Worst roads for motorcyclists revealed in latest data study

New data has revealed motorcyclists were involved in one third of all accidents where poor road surfaces were reported, in 2023.

The data was gathered from the Department for Transport (DfT) by the comparison website GoCompare, and it says motorcycles made up approximately 35 per cent of all incidents where a defective road surface was involved. Furthermore, it goes on to say that 242 collisions were as a result of defective road surfaces across the UK that year, while 84 of those involved a motorcycle.

According to the website, most of these accidents were not deemed too severe, with 50 being classed as ‘slight’. However, an additional 33 were deemed serious, including one which was fatal.

Kent had the most accidents involving bikers where there was a defective road surface, according to the study. Seven accidents were reported in the county’s area in 2023, while Kent also reported one of the largest amounts of B and C roads in poor condition last year.

Essex featured the second highest number of collisions involving a motorcycle where a defective road surface was again in play, with five. Hampshire, Lancashire and Merton had the joint-third highest number at three.

In total, Go.Compare says there were 17,765 collisions involving motorcycles across the UK in 2023. Slightly less than 2,400 of those were categorised as “special conditions”, such as roadworks, defective signals, mud, oil or diesel on the road surface being the cause.

Alternatively, Go.Compare says if “you want to ride on the country’s best-maintained B and C roads, consider visiting the North East. Sunderland’s roads were found to be in the best state last year, with a massive 87% of its B and C roads being in a good or ‘green’ condition.”

Middlesbrough and Newcastle were tied for second place, with 86 per cent of their B and C roads considered up to standard.

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