Concern raised about motorcycle fatalities in Manchester

 

With 18 of the 29 road fatalities in Manchester last year being motorcyclists, stakeholders on Tuesday turned the spotlight on bikers at the inaugural meeting of the Manchester Road Safety Network Council.

 

Dontae Matthews, Education and Information Officer at the Road Safety Unit, said there is a trend of serious delinquency among motorcyclists. 

 

"There's a problem when it comes to our motorcyclists not wear helmets or if they wear helmets, they're not wearing the appropriate helmets; speeding, we call it lane switching, but what they're actually doing is overtaking improperly because they should be in the traffic lane, but they drive in-between traffic. And what we find that some of them do, they're removing mirrors from the bike so that the bike gets slimmer to go through traffic," he pointed out. 

 

He said two motorcyclists and a private motor vehicle driver have died since January. 

 

More than 100 motorcyclists died in crashes last year.

 

Manchester is sixth on the list of parishes recording the most deaths from motorcycle crashes, and is among several parishes being targeted for public education intervention.

 

The Manchester Road Safety Network Council was established to raise awareness about safe driving practices, reduce fatalities through various interventions and advocacy for infrastructure and signage.