§ Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for Transport, for each of the last 10 years, how many motor cycle accidents there have been in total, and per motor cycle on the road; what proportion of riders were wearing crash helmets; what was the total number of fatalities; what has been the proportion of fatal injuries amongst those with and without crash helmets; when the wearing of crash helmets became mandatory; and what conclusions he draws from the statistics.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeDetails of motor cycle accidents and casualties for the period 1968–1978 are given in "Road Accidents Great Britain 1978", a copy of which has been placed in the Library. The 1979 edition, which will be published shortly, includes the following:
Motor cycle (including moped and scooter) involvements in injury accidents 69,173 Involvements, per 100 million kilometres 993 Motor cyclist fatalities 1,160 Information on crash helmet wearing is not collected; it is believed to be close to 100 per cent. It was estimated after the compulsory crash helmet legislation in 1973 that around 200 fatal and serious injuries per year were being saved. The 1979 fatal and serious injury rate for motor cyclists, including pillion passengers, is about 19 per cent. lower than in 1972, the last full year before legislation.