Twelve bikers and two passengers were killed last year while not wearing helmets, according to the Road Accidents Report from the National Roads Authority. The report, seen by Motors, shows that motorcycle deaths were down last year, with 44 fatalities, down four from 2001.
The average age group killed on motorcycles is 25-34 years of age. In that group, 18 were killed and 287 injured in 2002. Among them were 15 male motorcyclists and three female riders killed. More deaths occurred outside built-up areas, i.e, areas within the 30-40 mph speed limit. Twelve motorcycle users were killed inside built-up areas last year, as opposed to 32 outside these areas.
Sixteen fatal accidents involved cars and motorcycles, as opposed to one collision involving two motorcycles only. Some 715 injuries were reported from bike and car collisions, with 16 from bike-on-bike crashes. Most accidents occurred in Dublin city, with four motorcyclists killed and 235 injured. The second highest reported area was south Dublin, where three bikers died and 85 were injured.
Motorcycle deaths steadily increased from 1993 to 1997 then began to decline from 1998 to last year. The percentage of people killed on motorcycles was 10.9 per cent compared to 64.6 per cent of people killed driving cars.
However, figures released last weekend by the Department of Transport show that in the 12 months of penalty points, 54 motorcyclists were killed, compared to 40 the previous year. Speaking to The Irish Times, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, described this increase as "a particularly worrying development", and said he would announce a package of measures to address this issue.