Motorcycle tragedy highlights risks of failing to take safety precautions - Editorial

These tragedies, and others, take a terrible human toll. Photo / Bevan Conley

THE FACTS

• A coroner’s ruling has highlighted the risks of motorcyclists not taking safety precautions.
• Jack MacConnell, 19, died after crashing into a parked truck at high speed without a helmet.
• Motorcyclists are 21 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than car occupants.

The risks of motorcyclists failing to take safety precautions have been painfully highlighted by a coroner’s ruling this week.

A 19-year-old man who died in a motorbike crash in Napier last year was travelling at nearly three times the speed limit and not wearing a helmet.

Jack MacConnell hit a parked truck on Kennedy Rd about midnight on January 22, 2024. It was estimated he was travelling between 124km/h and 156km/h in a 50km/h zone.

MacConnell suffered catastrophic head injuries. Police later found the helmet on his bed. Toxicology reports found no drugs or alcohol in his system, and Coroner Rachael Schmidt-McCleave said the death was not self-inflicted.

Motorcycles can be dangerous at the best of times, and MacConnell’s tragedy is a sombre reminder of what can happen when massive risks are taken.

The statistics speak for themselves.

Ministry of Transport figures show that 56 people motorcycling died, 525 were seriously injured, and 838 suffered minor injuries in 2023.

The number of deaths that year is worrying because it was one of the highest since 1995, when 78 people died.

The worst year since 1984 came in 1988 when 146 lost their lives.

ACC says the risk of death or serious injury to a motorcyclist in a crash is 21 times higher than that of a car driver travelling over the same distance.

Some recent motorcycle accidents further highlight the risks.

There were eight serious motorcycle crashes in Waikato in September, the country’s annual Motorcycle Awareness Month. The Waikato Herald reported that two people died, three were critically injured, and three others received life-altering injuries because of these crashes.

A motorcyclist died in hospital after a Ngāruawāhia crash on October 1.

A man died in hospital after he was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash on Te Pahu Rd in the Waipā District last month. One person died and another was seriously injured after a motorbike crash on Waiheke Island in Auckland later in October.

These tragedies, and others, take a terrible human toll and leave behind shattered families, friends and co-workers.

There will be more riders on the roads in the months ahead as the weather continues to improve and summer sets in.

Riding a motorcycle provides a sense of freedom, excitement, stress relief and camaraderie. It is a big part of many people’s lives.

Ride Forever is an ACC initiative that aims to give riders reliable information and access to training. There is plenty of advice and safety tips online and on other websites.

Riders and other road users have a responsibility to minimise the risks.

It is up to each motorcyclist to be as safe as possible by ensuring they and their bike are up to the task, they ride to the conditions and don’t take unnecessary risks.