The number of motorcyclists killed on Canadian roads each year has risen steadily since the pandemic, a troubling trend that has some safety experts and activists calling for change.
“There’s been at least two accidents a day,” he told The Epoch Times. “And some days, two people are getting killed every day.”
Not every crash is fatal, he said, but they are almost always serious.
“When you have an accident on a motorcycle, it’s generally catastrophic,” he said. “It’s going to change your life and the lives of your family and friends, probably forever.”
Canada Safety Council national projects manager Lewis Smith said the rise in fatalities is directly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic when the number of people buying and riding motorcycles increased.
“The rise can be attributed to a number of causational factors, including … reduction in training during the pandemic, automatic licence extensions during this time, and changing driver habits due to less traffic during the pandemic,” he said.
“Bad habits are difficult to break, and concurrently we’re still seeing elevated rates of speed even now, which reduce the driver’s and motorcyclist’s ability to react to unexpected circumstances.”
“Really the industry, the motorcycle training space, historically, has been geared toward getting people to buy motorcycles and training them to pass the test. And that’s it,” he said.
At the outset of the pandemic, there was a 44 percent increase in sales of power sports equipment, including motorcycles, he said.
“People went and bought a snowmobile or an ATV or a motorcycle. But at the same time, what happened is that we couldn’t have that in-person training, and so there were a lot of people who had new toys, no training, or were in a massive queue to get training, and so a lot of people were just jumping in with both feet.”
The pandemic also instilled a false sense of security because traffic was at a minimum during those months, causing new riders to develop a lot of bad habits, Williams told The Epoch Times.
Fatalities on the Rise
Nationwide, fatalities jumped from 207 in 2018 to 258 just four years later. The trend is similar in Ontario where fatal crashes rose from 81 in 2020 to 86 by 2022.Motorcycle fatalities have seen a similar rise in the Maritimes, said Williams, who is from Nova Scotia. One such accident occurred last month when a 35-year-old New Minas man was killed near Chipmans Corner, N.S.
RCMP said the driver was operating a Kawasaki ZX 1000 motorcycle at high speeds before it crashed.
Motorcycle crashes are almost always caused by a driver error, but only around half the time is the motorcyclist the one at fault, Reed said.
A single motorcycle accident typically occurs because someone is “riding above their ability” or riding under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Reed said. But when more than one vehicle is involved, it is often caused by the other driver not seeing the motorcycle, or making some other type of mistake.
Laurent Isadore, 38, of Drift Pile First Nation and 33-year-old Tyler Duboski, of Edmonton, were killed and at least six other riders were injured, Faust RCMP said in a press release.
Many of the accidents involving a vehicle and a motorcycle come down to “inattention” or even road rage, Baron said, adding there has been an increase in the number of cars running through traffic lights and stop signs.
Drivers also fail to check for motorcycles when making turns or changing lanes on the highway, Baron said.
Preventing Deaths
One of the mandates of the Bikers Down Society is to increase safety awareness not only within the motorcycle community but also among drivers of four-wheeled vehicles, Williams said.“Our principle, ‘Look Twice, Save a Life,’ is a well known saying,” she said. “Each May, designated as Motorcycle Awareness Month, we amplify our campaigns to encourage greater vigilance among all road users. However, we believe that safety awareness must extend beyond a single month; it should be a daily commitment.”
Awareness of motorcycles on the road would cut down on a lot of accidents, Barons said, adding that current drivers’ education courses are inadequate in that aspect of training.
“I’ve been teaching motorcycle courses and 80 percent of that course is learning to identify and avoid potential accidents,” he said.” There isn’t one part of the driver training course that says, Did you see the motorcycle? Did you see the bicycle?”
Lack of consequences are also a factor in what Baron described as driver carelessness. Currently, if a driver makes an illegal left turn or fails to yield and hits and kills someone on a motorcycle, the fine is only $110, he said. There are larger fines for careless driving, a criminal offence, but it is hard to lay such charges because the police have to prove intent.
The goal, Baron said, is to amend the Highway Traffic Act for offences that cause death or serious bodily harm. The suggested amendments include raising the minimum fine to $2,000 and setting the maximum fine at $50,000. Drivers could also lose their licence for up to a year, and face jail time of up to a year.
“What we’re hoping is, when you come to an intersection or are just driving down the road you’ll think, ‘OK, if I cause a catastrophic accident. This could cost me $50,000,’” he said.
Inspiration From Others
While many motorcycle accidents are caused by careless drivers in cars and trucks, bikers still need to take responsibility for their own safety, the experts said.And that’s why Biker Down is looking at what other countries are doing right, and pushing to implement those practices in Canada, Reed said.
One way the United Kingdom is enhancing safety is through sign campaigns, particularly on roads where a lot of accidents have occurred.
“They actually put up signs that warn motorcyclists of a curve that’s coming up that has a decreasing radius, which means that you enter the curve and you think it’s going to be a consistent sort of turn, but it’s not,” Reed said.
Having signs in place that warn a curve suddenly increases in its sharpness will help bikers to take the turn at a safer speed, he added.
Sweden and the UK paint hazard warnings on their roads so a motorcyclist knows what to expect up ahead.
“It’s such a cheap and easy way to do it, and it becomes like a new universal language, much like we see road signs that show, hey, it’s a sharp corner coming up ahead. Be careful,” Reed said.
Signage and increased training are two key ways to help prevent crashes and make riders more safety conscious, the experts agreed.
“As avid motorcycle riders, my husband and I are acutely aware of the inherent dangers associated with motorcycling,” Williams said. “While we advocate for increased awareness among motorists, we also recognize that the responsibility for safety lies with motorcycle riders themselves. We need to ride in a safe and considerate manner, consistently evaluating our surroundings and taking proactive measures to protect ourselves.”
Baron said he is a huge believer in promoting positive perceptions about motorcycle riders and clubs. All too often, he said, the non-riding public have a negative perception of riders that is fuelled by news of outlaw motorcycle gangs or stories about motorcyclists stunt driving.
“That’s not the publicity we need, especially when we’re trying to fight so hard to get respect,” he said. “And to get respect, you have to give respect. You can’t go out on the highway and act like an idiot.”
