Argentine road safety institute urges tighter motorbike rules

Argentine road safety institute Isev has laid out a series of recommendations to help reduce the number of traffic accidents involving motorcycles in the country.

Prior to 2005, 10% of serious road traffic accidents involved a motorcycle but by last year the proportion had risen to 35.5%, Isev said.

Isev cited as factors a larger number of bikes in circulation and shortcomings in terms of policy, risk perception and training.

"Active policies, from both the public sector and the private sector, are needed to tackle the problem," Isev said in a report.

On a regional level, in terms of figures for overall traffic fatalities, about 100,000 people die each year in road accidents. Latin America has a higher mortality rate (19.2 per 100,000) than the EU (9.3) and Japan (4.7) despite having a lower rate of vehicle penetration.

Latin America is home to 222mn registered vehicles, of which 25% are motorcycles, said the IDB, which has launched a road safety initiative with insurers and motor sport's governing body, the FIA. The number of registered bikes in the region has risen 218% over the past 10 years or so, and so has the number of bike-related road accidents. Bikes accidents account for about half of road fatalities.

Isev, meanwhile, has called for more rigorous training for riders and increased traffic policing. It also said that new bikes should come with a helmet included, that companies which operate fleets of motorcycles should ensure helmets and other safety equipment are supplied, and that all motorcyclists take a more pro-active approach to their own safety.