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DfT’s final 2025 figures record 386 motorcycle users killed and 6,096 killed or seriously injured in police-reported road collisions in Great Britain. Motorcyclists accounted for 25% of road deaths but 1% of road traffic. These motorcycle casualty statistics describe national patterns; understanding an individual rider’s risk requires more context.
How many motorcyclists were killed on British roads in 2025?
The Department for Transport (DfT) published ‘Reported road casualties Great Britain: final results 2025’ on 30 July 2026. Its road user type chapter records:
| Motorcycle casualties in 2025 | Number |
|---|---|
| Killed | 386 |
| Killed or seriously injured (KSI) | 6,096 |
| All severities | 15,447 |
Across all road users, 1,538 people were killed. The KSI total includes fatalities, and the all-severity total includes KSI casualties, so these figures must not be added together.
The figures count people killed or injured. They should not be presented as the number of motorcycle collisions. When reading a headline, check the year, the geographical coverage and whether it refers to deaths, KSI casualties or all reported casualties.
How does motorcyclist risk compare with other road users?
DfT describes the motorcyclist fatality rate per billion vehicle miles as around 50 times higher than for cars. This compares deaths relative to distance travelled, giving context that a casualty count alone cannot provide.
Severity is a separate comparison. Among recorded casualties, 39% of motorcycle users were killed or seriously injured, compared with 17% of car occupants. The 39% figure refers to recorded casualties, not everyone who rode a motorcycle.
For someone asking ‘how dangerous is riding a motorcycle’, these figures show a higher fatality rate than for cars. They cannot predict what will happen on a particular journey. The comparison also concerns fatalities specifically. It should not be presented as a claim that every motorcyclist is around 50 times more likely to have any kind of collision.
How have the figures changed since 2024 and 2015?
DfT reports the following changes in motorcycle casualty numbers:
| Measure | 2025 compared with 2024 | 2025 compared with 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Fatalities | 14% higher | 6% higher |
| Killed or seriously injured | 7% higher | 12% lower |
Motorcyclist deaths increased in both 2024 and 2025. The longer view also needs care: DfT says fatalities per billion miles have been broadly flat since around 2010, while KSI rates have steadily declined.
Counts and rates answer different questions. Counts show how many people were affected; rates relate casualties to distance travelled. A rise in annual deaths does not, by itself, establish a corresponding rise in risk per mile.
What do the figures not tell us?
These are police-reported STATS19 figures for Great Britain. Searches for ‘motorcycle accident statistics UK’ or ‘motorcyclist deaths UK’ need that geographical distinction: these totals do not cover the whole UK.
DfT notes that not all collisions are reported to police, so the figures do not represent the full range of collisions or casualties.
Headline changes also do not establish causes. DfT identifies traffic levels, behaviour, demographics, vehicles, roads and policy as influences on trends. The totals alone cannot show why an individual collision happened or whether training changed an outcome. They also provide no basis for assuming that every rider, route or journey carries an identical level of risk.
The Government’s January 2026 road safety strategy targets a 65% reduction in killed or seriously injured casualties across all road users in Great Britain by 2035, against a 2022 to 2024 baseline. That is a policy target, rather than a measured reduction or a forecast.
What can riders take from these figures?
Use the figures as a reason to review your riding and identify questions for an instructor. Consider which situations you find demanding, how you make decisions and where you would welcome feedback. Discuss those needs when considering training.
Training may help you review skills and decisions. However, these national statistics do not establish its effect on casualty numbers, and completing training does not guarantee that a collision will be avoided.
Make the discussion specific. You might ask an instructor to review how you notice developing situations, choose your road position or judge an appropriate speed. Describe situations that leave you uncertain. The aim is to identify something practical to work on, while recognising that a course cannot control every circumstance on the road.
Where can you train in London?
We provide CBT and licence training at our London centres.
Visit our CBT course page for course information, and our training centres page to explore locations. Discuss any questions about your experience or training needs before choosing a course.
Frequently asked questions
How many motorcyclists died in Great Britain in 2025?
DfT recorded 386 motorcycle users killed in police-reported road collisions in Great Britain in 2025. This is a Great Britain figure, rather than a total for the whole UK.
What does KSI mean in motorcycle casualty statistics?
KSI means ‘killed or seriously injured’. DfT recorded 6,096 motorcycle KSI casualties in 2025. That figure includes the 386 people killed; they should not be added again.
Does the 39% KSI figure apply to all motorcyclists?
No. It describes the proportion of recorded motorcyclist casualties who were killed or seriously injured. It does not mean that 39% of everyone who rode a motorcycle became a KSI casualty.
Can training guarantee that a rider will avoid a collision?
No. Training may help riders review skills and decisions, but it cannot guarantee an outcome. The headline DfT casualty figures do not measure the effect of a particular course.
Source: Department for Transport (2026), ‘Reported road casualties Great Britain: final results 2025’, road user type chapter, published 30 July 2026.
