Young people are less likely to own a motorcycle, but those who do are relatively more likely to be involved in crashes. However the situation for young riders does appear to be improving.

The graph below compares the crash rate for young riders (under 26) in 1995, 2003 and 2007. Their crash rate per 10,000 registered motorcycles has decreased from 871 to 625 crashes. The crash rates for older riders has remained relatively low. In 2007 there were 228 crashes per 10,000 registered motorcycles for riders aged 26-39 and 115 crashes for those over 40 years.