Motorcycling safety

Of 21.7 million registered motor vehicles in Australia in 2024, approximately 970,000 were motorcycles (BITRE, Table 1 Road vehicles Australia, January 2024(Opens in a new tab/window)). Motorcyclists continue to be over-represented in total road deaths, and are identified as a vulnerable road user group in the National Road Safety Strategy.

Over the period 2017-2024, annual motorcyclist fatalities have grown from 211 to 278, an increase of 32%. Total road fatalities also increased slightly over the period, up from 1,223 in 2017 to 1,296 by 2024 (6% increase). Motorcyclist fatalities as a proportion of all road fatalities have increased by 4 percentage points over the same period.

Risk factors for motorcyclists

Age and sex

The vast majority of motorcyclist deaths in 2024 were males (94%). Male riders also make up a larger proportion of total motorcyclists, accounting for 85% of total motorcycle license holders in Australia in 2024 (BITRE, Table 6.15i Australian Infrastructure and Transport Statistics—Yearbook 2024—January 2025(Opens in a new tab/window)).

For both males and females, the 40-64 years age group reported the greatest number of deaths, followed by the 26-39 and 17-25 age groups. 

In terms of exposure and standardising deaths by age cohort size, the trend is inverted with younger motorcyclists in the 17-25 age cohort being more at risk, followed by the 40-64 and 26-39 age groups.

Day of week and time of day

In 2024, 69% or 192 motorcyclist road deaths happened during the daytime. More than half of deaths occurred during a Weekday (56%). 

Time of day is defined as follows:

• 'Day' refers to 6am through to 5:59pm
• 'Night' refers to 6pm through to 5:59am
• 'Weekday' refers to 6am Monday through to 5:59pm Friday
• 'Weekend' refers to 6pm Friday through to 5:59am Monday

Location

Between 2017 and 2024, most motorcyclist deaths happened in Major City remoteness areas, followed by Inner and Outer Regional areas. These high fatalities likely reflect higher traffic volumes in urban areas. 

Fatalities where the Remoteness Area is 'Unknown' have been removed from the chart but are available in the table view. From 2022, WA has provided location data at the end of each year, leading to the increase in ‘Unknown’. Updated location data for WA is expected to be available by the end of 2025. 

Definitions

ABS Remoteness Areas

Remoteness areas are defined using the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australia Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). They are divided into 5 classes of remoteness based on a measure of relative access to services.

Motorcyclist

Person riding a motorcycle or motorbike. This includes pillion passengers.

Motorcycle or Motorbike

2 or 3 wheeled motor vehicle used for carrying 1 or 2 people. Includes motor scooters, motor tricycles, motorcycles with sidecars, and mopeds.

Road crash

A crash reported to police resulting from the movement of at least one road vehicle on a public road and involving death or injury to any person, or threshold property damage, that is not the result of a pre-meditated act.

About the data

In 2017, the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) published Motorcycling Safety(Opens in a new tab/window), which explored key issues impacting the safety of motorcyclists in a road crash. This webpage updates some parts of the original publication and can be used alongside it.

Data for all figures, tables and charts are sourced from the Australian Road Deaths Database(Opens in a new tab/window) (ARDD) as at August 2025 (with data current to July 2025). The ARDD provides basic details of road traffic crash fatalities in Australia as reported by the police each month to the State and Territory road safety authorities. 

Limitations

Road deaths from recent months are preliminary and are subject to revision.