There are many excellent reasons to choose a motorbike or a scooter over a car. For a single person with minimal baggage, riding consumes far less petrol per mile than driving. That means financial savings and the environmental benefits that come with reduced reliance on fossil fuels. Motorcycles are also easier to manoeuver through points of heavy traffic and free parking is often available for bikes even where car drivers are obliged to pay. 

However, choosing to ride a motorbike also comes with another set of consequences. There are risks. According to a study performed by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau motorcycle riders were 30 times more likely to die in a traffic accident than drivers of cars, trucks, busses, and vans. In the USA a similar research project showed that riders involved in a motorcycle accident were also far more likely to die than those in cars. In that study they estimated that the risk of fatality is 35 times greater.

There is no doubt that some of the traffic accidents involving motorbikes are caused by rider error or by poor conditions, but it's also true that car drivers are often at fault. Despite programs like the Think Bike campaign, many other road users don't keep a sharp lookout for small, fast-moving motorbikes and some don't fully understand the rules when it comes to being on the road with a two-wheeled vehicle.

It is to be hoped that understanding amongst all road users will improve over time. Until then, any bike rider who feels that they have been injured in an accident caused by another road user (be it a second bike or a car) can get in touch with personal injury solicitors with a view to seeking compensation.