Survival Skills - the Newsletter
Lies, damn lies, and statistics which can't lie - but they can be badly presented...
WHEN USING WORDS LIKE ‘ALARMING’ IS ALARMIST - you have probably seen stories reporting that the number of motorcyclists killed on Britain’s roads rose last year with provisional figures from the DfT showing 343 riders died in crashes in 2024, up from 315 in 2023, a rise of 9%. Motorcyclists made up 21 per cent of road deaths last year, and right on cue, the RAC's road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis trotted out the line that the figures were “alarming”. I don't think anyone would argue that fewer deaths would be a very good thing indeed, but when we take a rather longer perspective, what we see is that motorcycle fatalities have been hovering around the 350 mark for the last decade. From a slightly lower-than-average toll in 2023, the figures are just slightly more-than-average. Using words like alarming is simply being alarmist.
Meanwhile Edmund King, the president of the AA, blamed the rise in motorcycle deaths on the growing popularity of food delivery services, saying “As more travellers switch to two wheels because of costs and for deliveries, the warning ‘Think Bikes!’ has never been more relevant." I would love to see where he got the figures to make that claim.
Craig Carey-Clinch, the executive director of the National Motorcyclists Council says that motorcycle testing, training and licensing are “now badly in need of reform”, and I don’t disagree when he says “the current regime is complex, expensive [and] presents barriers to access”, whilst the repeat and identical test passes required for the stepped licences are “doing little to really move the dial on safety”, something I said more than a dozen years ago when the DfT and DVSA first revealed their plans for the new testing regime for motorcycles. More crucially, given the growing numbers of riders on L plates, he said that Compulsory Basic Training "also needs reviewing and updating", once more making the very point I have made many times since qualifying as a CBT instructor in 1995!
I just don't happen to agree with the MCIA's proposals, which the NMC supports.
Highlighting the difficulties of changing the way riders think about their own safety, the results of a recent survey of riders, conducted by motorcycle insurance comparison site Entire Cover.
It revealed that over half (53%) of respondents have been involved in a crash as a rider but when asked the reason, around two-thirds claimed it was the fault of another road user. 67% of respondents also agreed with a statement that other road users were more dangerous than riders, 62% agreed that other road users were the biggest obstacle on the roads - whatever that means - and 55% believe that other road users act carelessly around riders. That matches fairly well with Scottish data showing about one‐third of motorcycle injury collisions involve only the rider, but it’s well-known that most rider-only crashes are never recorded - surveys suggest the figure is between 50 and 70 % of all rider‐only crashes. The vast majority of those will be rider fault, but presumably riders in the survey conveniently forgot them - or more likely, weren’t prompted to remember them.
At the same time, 64% accept that some riders drive dangerously on the roads - but presumably they don't include themselves since only 38% admitted to feeling safer driving a car. This is the old 'who's a better rider than average' test - ask a group that question and usually more than half put their hand up. Statistically impossible.
FINAL CHANCE - 'Survival Skills Eight-Week e-Course' in advanced riding
Today (SUNDAY 8 JUNE) is the last day to sign up for the JUNE edition of my eight-week 'Survival Skills' online course. It’s now open.
Via carefully-crafted interactive coursework and highly practical on-road exercises - you’ll learn all about my "stay out of trouble if you can, get out of trouble if you can't" approach to riding that has (so far) keep me alive on the roads as a professional rider, whilst the interactive nature of the course means you’ll get personalised help and advice from a BTEC-qualified advanced instructor who also holds an NVQ in distance learning.
TAKE A LOOK at a free ‘sampler’ which gives you access to some explainer posts as well as a look ahead at the course contents. OR SIGN UP HERE!
ON-ROAD RIDER COACHING - courses aimed the individual - resume in 2025
Choose your own content to gain confidence or fix riding issues, or learn techniques for coping with rural roads or city centre snarl-ups. With a focus on delivering genuine SURVIVAL SKILLS rather than exemplary technical competence or the need to quote the Police Manual from cover to cover, there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ training or ‘test' standard’, just coaching tailored to YOUR needs for as long as you want.
With convenient start points around London, take your riding beyond the ordinary!
ONLINE COACHING - wherever you are, whenever you want, weekdays and weekends
Choose from a wide range of riding topics or ‘roll your own’ for a truly personalised experience. Crucially, each session includes easy-to-perform PRACTICAL EXERCISES to make the link with what you’ll do on the road!
ONLINE COACHING is the SMART & FLEXIBLE way to improved riding!
Here are three articles explaining the benefits of ‘distance learning’:
FoF Sep 27 Why take an ONLINE COACHING SESSION? Pt 1
FoF Oct 4 Why take an ONLINE COACHING SESSION? Pt 2
FoF Oct 11 Why take an ONLINE COACHING SESSION? Pt 3
BOOK ME AS A SPEAKER - I DELIVER TALKS IN PERSON or ONLINE TO RIDING GROUPS & CLUB. DROP ME A LINE FOR MORE INFO!
“Many thanks for today’s webinar… and all your hard work. It was a both a great sanity check for preparations and a really good heads-up for riding in the EU… food for thought and a really good primer.”
Richard after an online webcast on planning on riding abroad to the Norton Owners Club.
ELEVENSES - join me twice weekly for news & views from our passion - the world of two wheels. Everything from politics to bike launches.
Make a brew, grab a biscuit and pull up a chair ready to tune in to keep up with the latest motorcycle news and sometimes controversial views, plus in-depth items on biking generally. Join me, Kevin Williams, twice a week on Wednesday and Sunday at 11am for 30 minutes of topical news, controversial views and better biking tips!
Watch live or catch up later at www.youtube.com/survivalskillsuk
GET THE WEEKLY DIGEST delivered to your inbox
SoS Jun 7 Surprise Horizons - naming calls (to mind)
FoF June 6 'Motivated Reasoning' - what it is, how to avoid it
60 Second Safety 122 Hanging back following a mobile
Elevenses 533 Wed 4 June - motorcycle news, tips & views
ToT Jun 3 Tyres - coping with a deflating tyre
Elevenses 532 Mon 2 Jun - motorcycle news, tips & views
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A QUICK SHOUT OUT to last week's KoFi supporters and subscribers
Howard, Nick, James, Kelvin, Halam and anonymous - thanks mightily for your support!
LEARN ABOUT THE SMIDSY COLLISION & HUMAN VISUAL PERCEPTION
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QUESTIONS, COMMENTS or SUGGESTIONS - THEN GET IN TOUCH
I love hearing from you. If you have an awkward question, let me know and I’ll try to answer the answer. If there’s something you’d like me to cover in a written article or maybe in an ONLINE TALK SERIES event, let me know. Contact Me via chat
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