‘Dad did nothing wrong' – Daughter of motorcyclist killed in crash backs campaign after 30pc rise in biker road deaths

Irish Independent

29-04-2025

New data from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) shows that while 10 motorcyclists died from January to April, there were seven who died during the first four months in 2024. While four motorcyclists died from January to April, 2023.
Meanwhile, the data points to increasing danger on roads for motorbikes. From 2019 to 2023, 1,556 motorcyclists were hospitalised following road traffic collisions.
Alan Rice, from Dublin, was a motorcyclist who died on the road on April 13, 2021. Mr Rice was one of 22 motorcyclists killed on Irish roads that year.
His daughter Laura said: "Accidents don't happen, they are caused". Mr Rice died after a car veered onto the wrong side of the road while coming around a bend in Skerries, Co Dublin.
'My dad Alan had met his friend in Bray and they drove up the coastline to Skerries that day. They were riding home when he was in a collision with a man carelessly driving,' she said.
'Dad did nothing wrong and he was driving quite slowly waiting for his friend to catch him up after coming through a roundabout. He had all the right safety gear on, but it wasn't enough to protect him when the man drove his car into him.
"My dad was thrown from his motorbike and landed on a grassy verge. His friend did all he could to try to keep him alive, but he died there on the side of the road with the sun sprinkling under the trees. No goodbyes, no hugs, just the deafening silence of him coming home to us in a box.'
From the hospital data collected up until 2023, almost a third sustained clinically serious injuries, which have a higher probability of long-term consequences.
Sarah O'Connor, director of partnerships and external affairs at the RSA, said: 'We're urging motorcyclists to take every possible precaution, including to ride within speed limits and at a speed appropriate for the road and conditions, as well as anticipating the actions of others.
'We encourage both motorists and motorcyclists to take time to look carefully, assess the road ahead and anticipate potential hazards and other road users — that extra time, that extra look could be the difference between life or death.
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'Drivers need to be aware of motorcyclists, especially at junctions and in areas of high traffic flow. This is of particular importance over the summer months and weekends, when the risk of motorcycle fatalities and injury is heightened.'
The RSA said longer evenings and warmer weather signal the start of peak motorcycling season. This is why the group is urging all road users to take precautions.
Over 90,000 motorcycling enthusiasts are expected to attend the NorthWest200 in counties Derry and Antrim next week. Roads across the island will see a significant increase in motorcycle activity, the RSA said.
Myles O'Brien from Co Mayo said his life changed forever after he was involved in a single vehicle crash on a bend two years ago.
'My crash was as a result of inexperience and a bit of speed,' Mr O'Brien said.
'I came around the first part of an s-corner, changed down gears too much and the back wheel went into a slide.
'In my panic, I pulled the front brake and the accelerator at the same time. I was thrown off and my back hit a rock paralysing me from my breastbone down. My message to fellow motorcyclists would be to slow down, drive within your experience, stay focused and read the road.'
A large number of motorcyclists involved in collisions are young men aged between 15 and 34, the RSA said. Almost half of clinically serious injuries occurred in single-vehicle collisions.
Data shows most injuries recorded impacted lower limbs (29pc), chest (17pc), and head (15pc). Over one in three motorcyclists sustained multiple clinically serious injuries.
And almost 25pc of motorcyclists with clinically serious injuries required transfer to another hospital for continued medical care.
Motorcyclists with clinically serious injuries spent on average over two weeks in hospital.