Motorcycles and scooters are a great way to avoid traffic, saving time, money and unnecessary stress. And they generally produce far lower greenhouse gases than other motorised vehicles.
Commuter motorcycling accounts for two-thirds of powered two wheeler trips and represents one of the cleanest forms of motorised transport for trips where walking, cycling and public transport are not viable. Motorcycles spend less time in traffic jams, whereas cars spend time with engines idling and air-conditioning running.
Powered two-wheelers move freely through traffic jams and as a result leave a smaller carbon footprint over a shorter period of time on any given urban journey.
In addition to the environmental benefits derived from avoiding traffic jams, the government has now confirmed that motorcycles and scooters are more eco friendly in terms of emissions than the average car.
In June 2007, the Transport Select Committee Report on the National Motorcycle Strategy, the Government confirmed that even for the largest machines, carbon dioxide emissions appear to be around 14 per cent lower than the new car average figure (162g/km EU average in 2005).
The response also highlighted the fact that currently the UK does not fully meet its objectives in terms of reducing the level of oxides of nitrogen emitted. In this field motorcycles on average emit 73 per cent less per km than cars.
Motorcycles are also cheaper to run, can assist social inclusion (particularly outside large cities), do less damage to the roads and are versatile and convenient for users.
