2006-2011 LTP Annex 2

Introduction

This strategy concerns the use and promotion of Powered Two Wheelers (PTWs) in Warwickshire.  The term ‘PTW’ has been adopted nationally as a term that includes motorcycles, scooters and mopeds.  However, for the purposes of this strategy cyclemotors have not been included.  For ease of reference where the term motorcycle or motorcyclist has been used in this document it can be taken to include all forms of PTW or user.

The purpose of this strategy is to set out the vision, objectives and approach to:

• Meeting the needs of motorcyclists;
• Providing a suitable environment for their safe and sustainable use in Warwickshire; and
• Meeting the objectives of the Warwickshire Local Transport Plan 2005.

There are particular safety issues concerning motorcycle use, both nationally and within Warwickshire.  Whilst a basic overview is provided in this chapter, motorcycle safety, as an issue will be tackled through Warwickshire’s Road Safety Strategy.

Policy Overview

The Strategy has been developed within the National, Regional and Local policy environment and aims to be consistent with the wider framework.  An overview of the policy background is provided in Annex 1 of the LTP.

The 1998 White Paper ‘A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone’ outlined the potential benefits from increased motorcycle use for the environment and for reducing congestion, as well as recognising motorcycles as an affordable alternative to cars.  However, the paper also recognised that the use of PTWs raised some important and complex issues.  Consequently an advisory group was set up to investigate how relevant policy could be developed, particularly to encourage further improvements in safety and environmental impacts.  The advisory group submitted it’s final report in August 2004, which made a full analysis of progress since the White Paper and some key recommendations.  Many of these recommendations relate to issues that can only be progressed at a national level, however, wherever appropriate they have been incorporated into this strategy.

The Government’s National Motorcycling Strategy, 2005, sets out a main theme for motorcycling strategy as being:

‘To facilitate motorcycling as a choice of travel within a safe and sustainable transport framework.’

It also sets out a comprehensive overview of motorcycling issues nationally and detailed action plan to address issues over a 5-year period.

Usage and Trends

Nationally

To understand motorcycle use in Warwickshire it is first helpful to appreciate some national trends, as highlighted below:

• It is estimated motorcycle traffic has increased by around 28% between 1993 and 2001 and in 2002 motorcycling accounted for more than 5 billion vehicle kilometres
• Between 1986 & 1995 there were over 700 fatal motorcycle accidents, in which:
• 41% involved a collision with one or more cars (60% of which were considered to be principally the responsibility of the motorcyclist)
• 29% only involved the motorcyclist (one third of which were associated with excessive speed)
• Involved riders aged between 20-29
• The main issue with car driver error was found to be carelessness & thoughtlessness, or failure to judge the actions of the motorcyclist.
• Accident liability appears to rise less than proportionately with mileage and falls rapidly with increasing age, but to a lesser extent with experience
• Average motorcycle trip length has steadily increased by approximately 75% from 1975 to 2000, although the numbers of trips per person has decreased
• The majority of motorcycle trips appear to be between 2 and 25 miles long
• The National Travel Survey and Family Expenditure Survey indicate that ownership of one motorcycle peaks at individuals aged 35-39 and that people more likely to own a motorcycle are:

• Those living alone;
• Those without children;
• Males; and
• Households with one car.

Nationally, the majority of motorcycle trips are for work, business or education purposes and these trips account for over half of motorcycling mileage.  Nearly two thirds of motorcycle trips are for work, business and education purposes, compared with just 30 per cent of car trips. Motorcycle trips for these purposes tend to be shorter than car trips.  For most other purposes, average motorcycle trip lengths are slightly longer than car trip lengths. The exceptions are visits to friends (where car trips are slightly longer) and other leisure, where the average motorcycle trip is twice as long as the average car trip. More trips per week are made by car than by motorcycle for all purposes except work, business and education. (Source: National Travel Survey, DfT)

Context of use in Warwickshire

The rural areas of Warwickshire are subject to a range of accessibility issues where limited access to cars and public transport, particularly for the young and those on lower incomes, can restrict employment, education and social opportunities.  Consequently, motorcycle use in the less economically buoyant and more rural north of the county tends to be marginally higher than in other areas.  It has been suggested that this may be because motorcycles are often cheaper to buy and run than other types of private motor vehicle. Throughout the last Warwickshire Local Transport Plan, Warwickshire County Council, in partnership with Coventry and Warwickshire Connexions, has promoted a number of ‘Wheels to Work’ schemes throughout the county where mopeds and training have been made available for limited or no cost.  This has been open to those without other means of travel to enable them to access employment and education.  These schemes are an excellent example of how PTWs can provide a sustainable alternative to car use in line with Local Transport Plan objectives.

The urban areas in Warwickshire are comparatively small, but are subject to peak hour congestion.  Whilst there are currently no lengths of bus lane in Warwickshire open for use by motorcycles in order to assist their congestion beating characteristics, there remains significant advantage in motorcycle use for the urban commute, particularly from the rural to urban or inter-urban journeys.  This is also supported by the observed national trend towards increased use of scooters and longer motorcycle journey lengths, of which approximately 45% are commuter journeys.

In order to understand the needs of motorcyclists in Warwickshire and help target measures and initiatives to best effect, a users forum (Warwickshire Powered Two Wheeler Users Forum) was established. This meets regularly throughout the year to discuss relevant issues.  This has been invaluable in developing targeted campaigns to promote sustainable motorcycle use and safe riding habits, as well as taking on a consulting role for the development of facilities.

A Department for Transport study, 'Road Safety Research Report No. 54 - In-depth Study of Motorcycle Accidents' looked at over 1700 motorcycle accident details, including over 1000 from the Midlands.  The main findings were as follows:

• There seems to be a particular problem surrounding other road users’ perception of motorcycles, particularly at junctions. Such accidents often seem to involve older drivers with relatively high levels of driving experience who nonetheless seem to have problems detecting approaching motorcycles;
• Motorcyclists themselves seem to have far more problems with other types of accident, such as those on bends, and overtaking or ‘filtering’ accidents; and
• There are two main groups of riders that interventions should be focused on. The first is young and inexperienced riders of smaller capacity machines such as scooters, and the second is older, more experienced riders of higher capacity machines. Both the skills and attitudes of these riders need to be addressed.

In Warwickshire the mode share of motorcycle traffic entering the town centres during a 12-hour daytime period appears to have remained relatively constant between 2000 and 2004 with an average mode share of just under 1% of all traffic.  Motorcycle use also tends to be seasonal, with higher levels of use from March to October.  This is reflected in the conditions in which casualties occur. In 2004, 93% resulting from crashes that happen in fine and calm weather, 80% on dry roads and 83% in daylight.  Of all motorcycle casualties:

• 82% resulted from crashes which occurred on single carriageway 2 lane roads, 8% at roundabouts and 5.6% on 2 lane dual carriageways;
• 61% occurred in 60mph limits, 18% in 30mph limits and 8% in 70mph limits;
• 94% of riders were male;
• 49% of riders were non-Warwickshire residents;
• The peak age for motorcycle riders was spread from 16 to 39yrs (71%);
• 73% of machines involved were over 125cc;
• In 65% of incidents the motorcycle rider was attributed as being at fault in the initial report from Police Officers attending the incident;
• 27% of crashes involved no other vehicle; and
• Common factors included; loss of control on bends (22%); excess speed (25%); skidding (25%) and overtaking (14%).

Motorcycle theft occurs across the County.  Over the last year, most crimes of this type took place in the towns of Nuneaton (152) followed by Rugby (104) and Bedworth (74).  Conversely, there were just 7 motorcycle thefts in Kenilworth, 13 in Warwick and 22 in Stratford.

Opportunities and Problems

There is a diversity of positive and negative issues concerning motorcycle use, which vary considerably across the country.  In this section only the issues facing motorcycle use in Warwickshire are dealt with and these are broken down into perceived opportunities and observed problems.

Opportunities:

• There is potential for a sustainable mode shift from private car use to motorcycles, so helping reduce congestion;
• Lower physical space requirements for motorcycle parking can minimise on-street parking demands, helping reduce street clutter and enabling reallocation of road space to other uses;
• Motorcycles can improve accessibility in Warwickshire by:
  • Providing high levels of flexibility as typified by private modes of travel, particularly at night and in rural areas where public transport is not always economically viable; and
  • Providing relative cheapness of travel – initial purchase costs and subsequent running costs can be significantly less compared to car ownership and travel.
• There can be substantial environmental benefits from increased motorcycle use compared to car use, including:
  • Low emissions – Overall compared to cars, motorcycles produce fewer emissions.  Generally they perform better for carbon dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, but are worse in respect of hydrocarbons.  The technological stage of motorcycle development, in terms of emissions standards, is currently behind cars and can be expected to catch up during the life of the 2005 Local Transport Plan;
  • Fuel consumption - when considered per in terms of average occupancy, fuel consumption is far lower for motorcycles than cars;
  • Natural resources - vehicle life tends to be longer for motorcycles and re-cycling levels are higher.  This minimises the primary demand on natural resources and energy requirements for the manufacturing process; and
  • Integration with other modes and policies can be relatively easily and cheaply delivered with often only limited requirements for specific dedicated infrastructure.
• There is a growing awareness and willingness to tackle issues of concern and promote the positive aspects of motorcycle use amongst users, the motorcycle industry and statutory authorities (such as the Police and local authorities) throughout the region.

Problems:

• Motorcyclists can be the subject of a poor public image and can be subject to negative attitudes from the public and other road users.  This has adversely affected the willingness of some people to consider using a motorcycle or moped when it could provide a sustainable and viable alternative means of travel.  Reasons include:
• The effects of poor weather, including the incorrect perception that this can lead to the rider becoming wet or cold (good quality appropriate safety equipment can be warm, easily worn over normal clothing and completely weather proof);
• The limited ability to carry large loads;
• Occasional aggressive road behaviour from some riders, which can heighten the perception of user risk to observers;
• However, motorcycle use is more risky in terms of user safety than other modes of transport.  This affects their attractiveness as an alternative mode and adversely contributes to Warwickshire’s road casualty incidents.  Research into the causes of the accidents is being conducted nationally.  Contributory factors appear to be:
  • Inappropriate speed and rider behaviour leading to a loss of rider control;
  • Hazards created by the physical layout or infrastructure of the highway network; and
  • A lack of awareness and understanding of motorcyclist’s needs by other road users, particularly by car drivers.  This, combined with poor observation skills, appears to cause disproportionally high levels of right of way incidents, notably at ‘T’ junctions.
• Inappropriate choice of rider clothing potentially leading to worse injuries the event of an incident than may otherwise have occurred;
• Poor vehicle maintenance and use of illegal tyres;
• Motorcycles are particularly susceptible to theft, being high in value and easy to manhandle and transport.  This, combined with accident risks, can make insurance costs on larger machines prohibitively expensive; 
• Many of the initiatives available to the County Council and its statutory partners to tackle safety and theft issues have financial implications. These are generally revenue based and as such face fierce competition for the limited available funding; and
• Many of the issues faced by motorcyclists (e.g. licensing) are related to matters that require national or higher level intervention.  These are discussed in the 2004 National Advisory Group report to Government and Warwickshire’s direct influence is limited.

The Strategy

Vision and Objectives

The vision of Warwickshire County Council’s Powered Two Wheeler Strategy is:

‘A motorcycle friendly highway network with good access to secure on and off-road parking and interchange with other modes, which is used by informed and safety conscious road users who are aware of other’s needs’.

This strategy will contribute towards meeting Local Transport objectives by promoting a Powered Two Wheeler friendly highway network and initiatives that:

• Tackle rural accessibility issues, particularly where public transport is not financially or commercially viable;
• Maximise access to affordable means of travel for employment, services and leisure activities, including integration with other modes of travel;
• Highlight the potential environmental benefits of Powered Two Wheeler use compared to private car use, particularly where walking, cycling or public transport is not a viable alternative;
• Encourage the safe and responsible behaviour of all road users, including tackling the vulnerability of Powered Two Wheelers to actions of other road users; and
• Consider the needs of Powered Two Wheeler users in the design and maintenance of the highway infrastructure.

Policies

a.  Safety - Issues relating to Powered Two Wheeler safety will primarily be pursued through the development and implementation of a dedicated Motorcycle Casualty Reduction Plan as part of Warwickshire’s Road Safety Strategy.  This will tackle the education and promotion of safe riding and driving practices for Powered Two Wheeler users and other road users, as well as safety issues relating to the highway infrastructure.

b.  Parking - Parking provision for Powered Two Wheelers should, as far as is reasonably possible, meet the standards set out in Traffic Advisory Leaflet 2/02, being centrally located near the journey destination and being well signed for ease of location.  Consideration should also be given to the provision of convenient changing and storage facilities for equipment.

c. Theft - Best practice and information on minimising the risk of theft will be promoted.  The provision of parking facilities within the highway should be secure, having locking points and CCTV wherever feasible.  Other measures and initiatives to reduce Powered Two Wheeler theft will be investigated in liaison with the Police as well as other local authorities with responsibility for off-street parking provision.

d. Highway infrastructure - Consideration of the needs of Powered Two Wheelers will be incorporated in normal highway maintenance and design practices; this will particularly focus on dealing with spillages, the location of street furniture and equipment and assessing maintenance practices in relation PTW accident risk.

Sustainable motorcycle use – can normally be considered to be where a motorcycle is used safely and responsibly for a journey when travel by foot, cycle or public transport is not viable.

Delivery of the Strategy

Table 12.1 sets out the County Council’s actions in delivering the policies of the Powered Two Wheeler Strategy in a way that recognises the existing problems and opportunities outlined earlier in this document.

The delivery of some measures, particularly those related to safety and enforcement, involves a wide range of stakeholders and can often depend on strategic and policy decisions or actions taken at a national level.  In these circumstances the nature and timescale of the actions set out below may need to vary.

Targets And Monitoring

Monitoring the delivery of the actions outlined in the Action Plan will be an important part of the management and control process. Progress against the identified actions and standards will be reviewed on a regular basis (at least annually) to make certain that the Action Plan is achieving the desired outcome.

The monitoring, benchmarking and measuring of targets will allow changes to be identified, incorporated and updated in due course.

Table 12.2 sets out the main targets and performance indicators that will be used to assess progress with the PTW Strategy.