With summery weather already here, ICBC is once again reminding motorists to be aware and share BC’s roads.
“On average we see about 2200 motorcycle crashes annually in BC. Of that, 1500 – about 68% – result in injury. A further 33% result in death,”
Motorcyclistsmake up only 3% of insured vehicles in the province but they are involved in 10% of fatal collisions. Milner says protective gear is a rider’s best friend.
“Riders need to try and protect themselves wearing an approved helmet and all the safety gear that they can. Motorcycle jacket, pants, motorcycle boots and motorcycle gloves. All of these will help protect you against skin and blood loss in the event of a crash.”
Protective gear in bright or reflective colours can help make motorcyclists more visible to drivers.
Drivers also have a role to play in keeping riders safe.
“Drivers, we really need you to watch out for motorcyclists on the road,” says Milner. “Motorcycles are very similar to cyclists and pedestrians. They’re more physically vulnerable in a crash compared to somebody in a car.”
Despite yearly awareness campaigns, Milner says reducing the number of collisions has been difficult.
“When we look at our statistics we see about 4 motorcyclists injured every day in May and June and that number goes up to 6 motorcyclists injured every day in July and August. Unfortunately, we’ve seen it remain fairly steady over the past several years. And this year the warm weather arrived early so we really need all drivers to be already thinking about motorcyclists being on the road and motorcyclists need to think about protecting themselves.”
You can find more driver and rider tips on summer road safety on ICBC’s website.
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