Transport Malta is installing the first motorcycle strips in Malta at Coast Road with the motorcycle strips are attached to the lower part of the crash barriers.  In case of an accident, motorbike riders are stopped from hitting the pillars and the lower part of the barriers.  Riders usually slide along the asphalt and hit against the pillars or the edge of the barriers, with serious consequences.

Motorcycle riders are 15 times more at risk of losing their life than car drivers when hitting against crash barriers, according to a study commissioned by the international association EuroRAP.

Motorcycling is becoming increasingly popular even among Maltese drivers.  In Europe, motorcycle riders make up 16% of road fatalities despite covering only 2% of distance travelled.  Riders are thirty times more at risk of losing their lives than car drivers.

As part of its road safety strategy, Transport Malta is installing three and a half kilometres of motorcycle strips within the curves and critical parts of the Coast Road.  According to the study commissioned by EuroRap, motorcycle strips halve the number of fatalities of riders who crash in barriers.

In the past weeks, a number of motorcyclists have been admitted to hospital following accidents.