Numbers are impersonal and can lead, on occasions, to frivolize or to treat accidents as mere “circumstances”. So when it comes to talking about accident statistics, the first thing to do is never forget that human lives, family tragedies and broken dreams are hidden behind each cold figure.
However, paradoxically, it is precisely the statistics -because of their scientific objectivity- that best allow a global vision of the situation.
As we have repeated on several occasions, the motorcycle market is much more seasonal than the automobile market and moves between two major “peak” moments: before Christmas and just before summer, coinciding with the proximity of the major holiday periods. For obvious reasons, it is logically in the summer season when all these newly acquired models are most widely available and the roads are filled with motorcycles.
So we wanted to resort to numbers, to statistics, to see if -as it might seem- the number of two-wheeled vehicle accidents increases in the summer months.
In July and August, the greatest number of summer accidents are suffered by motorists on long journeys and on conventional roads without separation of directions. The profile of the deceased is that of a man between 35 and 44 years old, who has an accident on a weekend, on a conventional road, due to an off-road.
According to the figures from the DGT, in the previous summer -2022- the accident rate in general increased during the summer months, something logical, since there was a flood of post-pandemic trips and an increase in the vehicle fleet of 3.6 %. That was summed up in a 5% increase in the number of deaths compared to the summer of 2019 and a 19% increase in the summer of 2021.
However, and with regard to motorcycles -although they were not unrelated to this rise-, the accident rate fell significantly in relation to other years; nothing more and nothing less than 12% in total. Figure that coincides with those managed by Anesdor, the employers’ association of the sector.
The summer months move in motorcycle accident figures similar to those of the rest of the year. September, October and November concentrate more accidents as the use of the motorcycle as a daily vehicle on urban and interurban roads increases.
This analysis would not be complete without seeing how these numbers are reflected in the receiving party of the consequences of these cold statistics, so we have asked the opinion of experts from calculatuindemnización.com to find out if their motorcycle files increase in July and August .
“The total cases treated by our company in 2022 seem to refute this statement,” says Isabel Guindal, head of communication for the aforementioned company. In fact, the lowest figure of the year was recorded in August. It makes sense since, although there are more motorcycles circulating, in reality there are much fewer daily or work trips and more medium and long distance trips through quieter environments.
In the winter of 2022, the cases increased by 30% compared to those in spring and 28% compared to those in summer of the same year. Autumn is the second season of the year with the most accidents, with 10.50% more than in winter and 14% more than in summer. Comparing by month, November was the month in which more accidents were claimed from insurers.
According to the data provided by calculatuindemnización.com we are talking about 71% more victims than in the month of August and 56% higher than the month of July. It is followed as the most dangerous month by September, which registers the second position in the ranking of claims processed during 2022.
And although the figures for this summer are yet to arrive, the company indicates that last June it already registered 15% fewer accident cases than January 2023.
Guindal points out that, in summer, although there is no exponential increase in accidents, there are, paradoxically, more claims for aesthetic injuries when driving without the proper clothing.
“In summer you ride a motorcycle with lighter clothing and with less protection and in the event of a fall, even if it is not an apparently so serious accident, you do suffer more aesthetic injuries, so the claim for compensation for this item does increase. in summer”, affirms the person in charge of communication. According to her data, dislocations grow by 61%, fractures are 39% more frequent, polycontusions increase by 23% and contusions in general also rise by 10%.
“The figures for July 2023 and obviously those for August we do not have them yet but nothing indicates that there will be much difference compared to last year and although there seems to be a slight upturn, this is quite proportional to the increase in displacements,” he comments. Guindal.
