What do Australian riders wear?
The majority of motorcyclists wear a helmet and jacket, they are less likely to wear motorcycle boots, pants or gloves. This is despite at least 20 years solid evidence that over 80% of motorcycle casualties have leg injuries.

In a survey of 796 motorcyclists in NSW, de Rome et al (2002), found that one in ten riders did not wear gloves, 15% did not wear motorcycle boots and 55% did not wear motorcycle pants. Over half the riders normally wore jeans (54%), apparently unaware that standard denim will last just over half a second (0.6 sec) when dragged along a road.

Motorcycle club members were more likely than non-club members, to wear motorcycle boots (89% vs 75%) and motorcycle pants (52% vs 36%) .

The situation was markedly worse for pillions. While riders and their pillions tended to wear similar jackets and helmets, the pillions were less likely to have motorcycle boots (only 60% vs 85% of riders), gloves (80% vs 89%) or pants (36% vs 45%). The graph shows the proportion of riders and pillions and the type of motorcycle protective clothing they normally wear. For a full copy of this report download (de Rome et al (2002), MCC Survey of Motorcyclists in NSW)