Acci­dents invol­ving light­weight two-wheel motor vehic­les in Saar­land

In a research project investigating accidents involving lightweight two-wheel motor vehicles, an interdisciplinary team of researchers consisting of accident analysts and physicians recorded and analyzed 203 accidents that took place in the federal state of Saarland in the period from July 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011. In addition, traffic checks were carried out on 129 vehicles together with the Saarland police.

Almost 20 Prozent of the traffic accidents analyzed were accidents with no third-party involvement. In 67 Prozent of the other cases, the accident was not caused by the two-wheel motor vehicle. The traffic checks revealed that, apart from a helmet, which is mandatory, riders were wearing almost no other protective clothing. Riders of scooters represented an exception, with 75 Prozent of them wearing protective gloves and 50 Prozent protective jackets. In five cases, the riders checked were found to be not in a fit state to drive.

Particularly in the case of mopeds with maximum speeds of up to 25 km/h and 45 or 50 km/h, impermissible technical changes had been made to a large proportion of the vehicles. In particular, it was found that steps had been taken to improve the performance or increase the speed of a considerable proportion of the vehicles checked.