Provisional road safety data released by the Government has highlighted a continuing and worrying trend in increased motorcyclist fatalities and serious injuries on UK roads.

You can access the latest data here: CLICK HERE

The data highlights clear differences between road user groups in terms of road safety outcomes, with vulnerable road users, including motorcyclists, facing increasing risk. Motorcyclist deaths rose by 13% to 384, marking the second year in a row that we have seen an increase in fatalities.

Overall, the UK government statistics show a mixed and complex picture; one where fewer people are being killed on UK roads, but where serious injuries are rising and vulnerable road users face increasing risk. In 2025, an estimated 1,556 people lost their lives in road collisions, a 3% drop compared to 2024. However, the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSIs) rose to 29,911, up 4% overall year on year.

You can read the latest Press Release from the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) on the Government’s road safety data here

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF said: “The data clearly indicates that much more needs to be done to improve UK road safety and, in particular, to reduce the risks faced by motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users. It is completely unacceptable that motorcyclist fatalities have increased for the second year running. Motorcyclists make up less than 1% of total UK road traffic, but account for roughly 20% of all road deaths, with riders 40 to 50 times more likely to be killed in a collision compared to car occupants for the same distance travelled.

In its recently published Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, the Government set itself an ambitious target of reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) by 65% by 2035. With the latest rise in serious casualties, the Government will clearly be facing an uphill battle to meet its own target. Ministers and officials will need to work closely and collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders, including rider groups, trainers, manufacturers, educators and law enforcement representatives, to deliver the significant improvements in road safety that we all want to see.

The BMF recently contributed to a comprehensive set of proposals submitted as part of a joint response by the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC), the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) and the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) to the Government’s consultation on its proposed Road Safety Strategy. We have called for the development of a much more comprehensive strategy for motorcycling; one that delivers not only improved rider safety through better training (for riders and drivers), infrastructure and road design, but that also recognises motorcycling’s contribution to decarbonisation, congestion reduction and the development of a more efficient urban and rural transport model. Only when the Government starts to take motorcycling more seriously as an important and sustainable future transport option, will we begin to see the policies and investment that will be needed to deliver improved safety outcomes for motorcyclists.

The time for action is now!”

Written by Paul Morgan CBE – BMF Government Relations Executive

Top image courtesy of Jamiga – iStock