Motorbikes and scooters in Rome: accidents decrease, but holes and manholes are scary
01/16/2019
400,000 vehicles travel the streets of the capital every day, but 1 in 2 is not in compliance with the revision. Over 24% of interviewed motorcyclists use their smartphone to drive. January 23rd Safe Guide for 150 young people from Roman schools.
Since 2010, accidents involving motorcycles and scooters in Rome in urban areas have decreased by 38%, deaths by 40% and injured by 38%. On the streets of the capital, however, there are over 5,000 claims a year with a two-wheeled vehicle: 14 per day. October is the month with more accidents (10% of the total on two wheels), while in May there are more deaths (1 in 4). During the evening return home-work (17: 00-21: 00) focuses on 31% of the fights for motorcycles and scooters, but it is at night (22: 00-6: 00) that there are more dead on two wheels (34% of the total). This is what emerges from the study “Road safety in the Capital of two wheels”, carried out by the Fondazione Filippo Caracciolo of ACI and presented today by the Automobile Club Roma, which analyzes the mobility of motorcycles and scooters, also through interviews on a sample of over 800 drivers and surveys of behaviors in the most dangerous intersections.
Despite the improvement of accident data, critical issues emerge to be tackled urgently: 98% of interviewed motorcyclists indicate the holes as the first risk factor. The status of the manholes (81% of responses) and the unruly behavior of drivers (64%) follow. Almost half of those who travel by motorbike and scooter along the 5,500 kilometers of Roman roads also include pedestrians and cyclists. The study also highlights the vices of the Roman riders: 50% of the 393,144 two-wheeled vehicles circulating in Rome is not in compliance with the revision (according to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructures) and 24% of motorcyclists declare to use the smartphone while driving. Four out of ten admit to exceed speed limits, cross the continuous line and go through a yellow light, but more than 60% say they are zig-zagging in traffic.
Such behaviors do not always find adequate contrast in the sanctions: the interviewees from the Caracciolo Foundation confirm that they have received minutes for the infractions committed, but more for non-stop (44% of responses) and violation of lanes reserved for public transport (35%). Only 19% of the confessed fines punish the speeding and only 9% fail to respect the traffic light.
The study also notes the lack of user awareness: the “open” jet helmet is preferred by 67 users out of 100, but only 28% of the respondents declare to replace it in the event of an accident. Regarding the equipment, the gloves are used from 1 to 4, the technical jacket from 1 to 10 and trousers with protections from 1 to 100. The training need is emphasized primarily by the bikers themselves: 76% deem it necessary to introduce evidence Practices in the circuit for the attainment of the license and 90% ask for more tests on the road.
“In Rome every year about 30 people die on two wheels every year – says Giuseppina Fusco, vice president of the Automobile Club of Italy and president of the Filippo Caracciolo Foundation – and among the causes stand out distraction, safety distance and speed. It also heavily affects the age of the circulating fleet, lacking the main driving assistance tools (ADAS), in addition to the inadequacy of the road surface and the lack of awareness of safety equipment “. According to Fusco, “it is necessary to promote awareness campaigns on the correct behavior, to intervene on the infrastructures, to encourage the renewal of the park and to improve the driving training, as requested by the majority of the interviewees”.