The Ministry of Transport says the number of people dying in motorbike crashes is rising.
Three people were killed in a motorbike collision on the Christchurch - Akaroa highway on Saturday - taking the total number of rider and pillion passenger deaths to 50.
The ministry says that's almost a third more than the 38 fatalities recorded by the same point in 2006 and 2007.
It believes the higher number of deaths is directly related to the number of new motorbike registrations: some 16,000 more motorbikes were registered in 2007 alone.
Transport Ministry spokesperson David Crawford says the number of motorbike crash injuries has doubled since 2002.
He says older people, who are returning to riding with bigger bikes after years away, have also been causing a large number of accidents.
But the Bikers Rights Organisation disagrees. President Finn Nielsen told Summer Report on Monday that he doubts a lack of skill can be blamed.
