HSRC MOTORBIKE RIDERS AND CYCLISTS 113 8 MOTORBIKE RIDERS AND CYCLISTS 8.1 INTRODUCTION Motorbike and bicycle riders constitute only a small portion of road accident victims. In the RAF system only 1% and 2% of the claims pertained to these two groups respectively. In the national road accident figures published by Statistics South Africa motorbike riders are not treated as a separate group, but are included in the group drivers. The number of bicycle riders or cyclists killed or injured in South Africa vary between four and five thousand per year approximately 3,5% of all road accident casualties. This chapter gives a brief overview of these two road user groups. For motorbike riders only RAF information is given, while in the case of cyclists RAF data are compared to national road accident statistics. 8.2 MOTORBIKE RIDERS A profile of motorbike riders whose claims were paid is shown in Figure 8.1 (also see Table 8.1) according to type of injury, gender, population group and age group distribution. Half (50%) of the motorbike riders sustained moderately serious injuries, while 32% were injured slightly and 18% seriously. The fact that no fatalities were recorded does not necessarily mean that such claims were not received by the RAF. As motorbike riders constitute a very small portion of the total number of claimants (only 1%), it was quite possible that the fatalities were missed in the sampling process. The majority of the injured passengers in this group were men (84%). Whites constituted by far the largest group (83%), while Africans and coloureds comprised 16% and 1% of this group respectively. Nearly two thirds (62%) of the accident victims in this group were under the age of 30.
114 ROAD ACCIDENT FUND COMMISSION REPORT 2002 VOLUME 3 FIGURE 8.1 DETAILED PROFILE OF MOTORBIKE RIDERS WHOSE CLAIMS WERE PAID
HSRC MOTORBIKE RIDERS AND CYCLISTS 115 TABLE 8.1 CLAIMS LODGED AND PAID FOR MOTORBIKE RIDERS, ACCORDING TO INJURIES, GENDER, POPULATION GROUP AND AGE GROUP Motorbike riders Claims lodged Claims paid N % N % Claims paid as % of claims lodged Injuries Gender Population group Age group Light 193 31 169 32 88 Moderate 315 50 262 50 83 Serious 122 19 96 18 78 Total 631 100 527 100 84 Male 546 86 442 84 81 Female 85 14 85 16 100 Total 631 100 527 100 84 African 98 15 84 16 87 Coloured 30 5 5 1 19 White 504 80 437 83 87 Total 631 100 527 100 84 10 19 165 26 165 31 100 20 29 263 42 164 31 62 30 39 85 14 85 16 100 40 49 95 15 95 18 100 50 59 18 3 18 3 100 Total 626 100 527 100 84 8.3 CYCLISTS AS ROAD ACCIDENT VICTIMS IN SOUTH AFRICA The number of cyclists killed or injured in road accidents over the period 1990 to 1998 varied between 4 000 and a little over 5 000. The number of deaths fluctuated between 316 and 220 and represented between 6% and 7% of all casualties over the period (see Figure 8.2). FIGURE 8.2 CYCLISTS KILLED AND INJURED IN ROAD ACCIDENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA: 1990 TO 1998 Source: Calculated from Statistics South Africa, Road Traffic Collisions, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998
116 ROAD ACCIDENT FUND COMMISSION REPORT 2002 VOLUME 3 FIGURE 8.3 GENDER DISTRIBUTION OF CYCLISTS WHO WERE KILLED OR INJURED IN SOUTH AFRICA: 1994 TO 1998 The majority of cyclist victims were men approximately 90% over the period 1994 to 1998. Source: Calculated from Statistics South Africa, Road Traffic Collisions, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 The population group distribution of cyclists is shown in Figure 8.4. They were mainly African and white (approximately 40% in each group over the period 1994 to 1998). FIGURE 8.4 POPULATION GROUP OF CYCLISTS WHO WERE KILLED OR INJURED IN SOUTH AFRICA: 1990 TO 1998 Source: Calculated from Statistics South Africa, Road Traffic Collisions, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998
HSRC MOTORBIKE RIDERS AND CYCLISTS 117 FIGURE 8.5 AGE GROUP OF CYCLISTS WHO WERE KILLED OR INJURED IN SOUTH AFRICA: 1990 TO 1998 Source: Calculated from Statistics South Africa, Road Traffic Collisions, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 The age distribution of cyclists is shown in Figure 8.5. Most of them were under 30, with quite a large number of children (approximately a quarter) in the age group 10 to 19.
118 ROAD ACCIDENT FUND COMMISSION REPORT 2002 VOLUME 3 8.4 CYCLISTS WHOSE CLAIMS WERE PAID BY THE RAF FIGURE 8.6 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF CYCLISTS WHOSE CLAIMS WERE PAID BY THE RAF The demographic profile of cyclists who received compensation from the RAF looks very similar to the national profile outlined in Section 8.3. They were mainly white and African males and under the age of 30. Ten per cent of the claims pertained to victims who had been killed in the accidents.
HSRC MOTORBIKE RIDERS AND CYCLISTS 119 8.5 CONCLUSIONS Motorbike riders and cyclists (pedal cycle) constitute a small proportion of road accident victims. The profile given in this chapter is therefore limited to a few essential elements. Both motorbike riders and cyclists are mainly men under the age of 30. Motorbike riders are mainly white, while most cyclists involved in accidents came from the white and African population groups.