Letter: Motorcycle riders riders have the right to feel their safety is taken as seriously as any other road user

This is true on both of your points.

The four officially designated vulnerable road user groups (VRUG) are pedestrians, cyclists, equestrians and motorcyclists, with motorcyclists recognised by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) as being THE most vulnerable of all road users (report Motorcyclists KSIs 2015-2019) and borne out by PSNI collision statistics.

Figures for January to December 2023 show 103 motorcyclists were seriously injured including, sadly, 13 fatalities.

Despite receiving a detailed submission from Motorcycle Action Group UK (MAG-UK) on the rider's perspective on road safety and our suggestions on how the new road safety policy for Northern Ireland could be made to include some active interventions to improve our safety, at no detriment to anyone else, the DfI ignored us and the current road safety policy contains nothing to enhance motorcyclist safety.

Motorcyclists were not even featured in the recent DfI Road Safety Week 2024, despite being the most vulnerable road users.

The DfI’s own analysis of motorcyclist collisions demonstrates clearly that their efforts over recent years have largely failed because half of all seriously injured or fatal motorcycle collisions are still being caused for the same reasons as over 20 years ago - principally, drivers not paying attention and causing serious and fatal collisions.

But all they seem to do about this is to re-run old road safety videos on social media, which has clearly not been effective. The DfI seemingly ignores the safety needs, indeed the safety rights, of motorcyclists.

Much has been done in recent years, and rightly so, to enhance and improve safety for cyclists by way of active interventions, safety initiatives and public information and awareness campaigns, including the requirement to allow 1.5 metres of space when overtaking a cyclist. That same safety space should also be allowed for a motorcyclist.

Cyclists and motorcyclists share many of the same hazards yet motorcyclists feel, and appear to be, disregarded.

The only positive active intervention made in the last 20 years to enhance motorcyclists' safety was to allow us access to the bus lanes.

Now, John O’Dowd is allowing more vehicle types to use them and riders feel concerned this decision will compromise our safety, confirming that officialdom pays no regard to us nor values our lives.

A motorcycle, of any sort, is a legitimate form of effective, low-impact, congestion-beating and sustainable personal transport and riders have the right to feel their safety is taken as seriously as any other road user.

For everyone using Northern Ireland’s roads, I wish you safe journeys in 2025 and beyond.

Ride safe. Drive safe.

Martyn Boyd, Bangor; NI representative for Motorcycle Action Group UK