Any effective road safety campaign should be well designed, targeted and researched. It is vital tool for dealing with motorcycle road safety ‘problems’ and should comprise the appropriate elements of education awareness, training and publicity and deal with both attitudinal and behavioural factors leading to accident involvement Important points to remember include:

7.2.1 Road safety campaigns are a vital ingredient in the mix of initiatives needed to improve the safety record of motorcyclists.

Rider attitudes play a major role in determining rider behaviour, irrespective of age or trip purpose.Measures designed to modify behaviour must address these attitudes and take account of the individuality often expressed in choosing a motorcycle as the travel mode.

Riders respond better to messages that relate to their own perspective and are likely to ignore “must do” or “must not do” approaches.

7.3.1

7.4.1 Appropriately designed training, addressing attitudinal as well as skills deficiencies and aimed at addressing the particular risks faced by different users is a beneficial supplement to publicity campaigns. Avoid prescriptive skills training formats; use the results of accident analysis and the existing performance shortfalls of the individual to guide the content of the training to be delivered.

This can mean tailored assessments of rider ability.

Internally

7.5.1 Road safety education campaigns are most effective when combined with their engineering and enforcement counterparts.

The project engineer responsible for road layout changes should keep their Road Safety Officer (RSO) colleagues informed - preferably involving an appropriately trained and skilled RSO at the design and road safety audit stages. Police and RSO liaison and cooperation is also desirable and productive. A publicity campaign can explain engineering changes to a road layout and the reasons for the changes, and can be backed up by enforcement when necessary. It is recommended that education and publicity budgets should be included in scheme costs.

Across borders

7.5.2 If there is a specific problem within the borders of the authority yet not peculiar to any one site or group of sites, then a local campaign, carefully targeted to address the root cause of the problem, is worth serious consideration. It may be that liaison with neighbouring authorities and police forces will show that there is a shared problem which no individual body can overcome in isolation. If this is the case co-operation with the neighbouring authorities is cost effective and allows publicity at the home location of riders as well as at the risk location. Riders often travel some distance from their homes to favoured riding areas but are most likely to be reached by campaign elements if they are offered conveniently close to their homes.

Across a region

7.5.3 At a regional level, it is recommended that specific groups most at risk be targeted, for example sports bike riders or urban commuters. Again, this requires an analysis of the factors that lead to accidents and the creation of measures to address them. A combination of educational and psychological approaches designed to effect attitude and behavioural change, and provision of appropriate needs-based training, is probably the best way forward, together with a consistent and supportive enforcement approach.

Nationally

7.5.4 On a national level, central and local government have forged excellent links with the motorcycle manufacturers’ and retailers’ associations and the main rider and training groups to share knowledge and coordinate activities, for example linking with the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) DVD titled A Street, A Track, An Open Road. This takes an “edutainment” approach to rider safety and is being issued with all new machine purchases.

The Local Authority Road Safety Officers Association (LARSOA) is the main ‘clearing house’ for local authority educational and publicity measures and it is recommended that the appropriate LARSOA adviser be consulted before initiating any new measures.

Obviously, collaboration between all interested parties is essential to attain cohesive and effective approaches, while avoiding duplication.

The LARSOA web site includes examples of previous schemes.
www.larsoa.org.uk

7.6.1 There is no single target or message for an effective and overarching campaign. Riders choose their mode of transport depending on their individual needs and the culture groups to which they belong or aspire to.

This means that the message to be propagated differs considerably depending on the target audience.

Generic exhortations such as “ride safely” fall onto deaf ears, as they are not identified by the intended audience as applying to them.

The Government’s “Think” strap-line and campaign provides an excellent opportunity to tie any local campaign into a nationally recognised approach.

7.6.2 The different groups that may need to be targeted, depending on the local situation, could include:

7.7.1 The type of accident in which riders are involved varies from urban to rural situations, by journey purpose and by style of riding.

Leisure riders, especially sports bike riders, travel considerable distances to attractive areas.

This makes co-operation between neighbouring local authorities and police forces extremely beneficial. In a similar way, longer distance commuters may travel though several authority areas. Analysis of police data or local surveys can provide useful information on home addresses, allowing the campaign elements to be delivered to the target group.

Good examples of campaigns and initiatives include:

Sponsorship opportunities

7.8.1 For local campaigns there are various avenues for seeking sponsorship - if not in direct financial terms then in useful support for promotional activities. People involved in selling or promoting motorcycling interests, both on and off road, frequently give enthusiastic support.

This is also true of the proprietors of motorcycle gathering points, including race circuits or public venues. Insurance companies are in a business area with a common interest in rider safety and may be able to support well designed campaigns. Co-ordination of this support will allow the message to be put directly to the target audience at their normal gathering points, at little or no cost to the local authority.

Resource pooling

7.8.2 If a regional approach is to be followed then the pooling of local authority human and financial resources is desirable.

Various LARSOA regional groups, as well as smaller groupings of neighbouring authorities, have successfully co-operated. Again, as at a local level, partnerships with local commercial interests can be helpful. Safety camera partnerships may be able to supply financial and human resources in co-operative endeavours.

7.9.1 There is a tremendous amount of interest in motorcycle safety around the country so it is important to combine resources to achieve effective and efficient campaigns. Any organisation contemplating a campaign would benefit by checking with LARSOA to see what has, or has not,worked and who else regionally or nationally may be able to offer collaboration or advice.

Potential partners include

Department for Transport (DfT), Highways Agency (HA), local safety camera or casualty reduction partnerships, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) via its BikeSafe scheme, Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), British Motorcyclists’ Federation (BMF), Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), Motorcycle Rider Training Association (MRTA), the Institute of Road Safety Officers (IRSO), regional groups of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), insurance companies and, in the London area, Transport for London (TfL).

Wider outlook

7.9.2 Leisure riding is not constrained by local authority boundaries, nor is long distance commuting, and many accidents involve riders who do not live locally. Individual local authorities and other interested groups could still promote their own local themes but would gain additional benefit from being set within the context of overarching activities.

Driver/Rider improvement schemes

7.9.3 Several police forces have introduced Rider Improvement Schemes in which riders who break road traffic law are offered the opportunity to attend a training course instead of facing prosecution.

The Association of National Driver Improvement Scheme Providers (ANDISP) has full details of schemes.

7.9.4.1 One of the first Driver Information programmes to be developed by the Highways Agency under its ‘Customers First Strategy’ was a DVD for motorcyclists, “Great Roads Great Rides”. Launched at the British Super Bike race meeting at Oulton Parkin July 2006, it features Tommy Hill from the Virgin Mobile Race Team and backed by the THINK! road safety campaign's Academy, the Driving Standards Agency and police motorcycle instructors.

The DVD has 14 chapters covering everything from group riding to reading the road; from the science behind the bike to what to do if you’re first to arrive at an accident. By working with industry, the emergency services and road safety stakeholders across government, production costs were significantly reduced, enabling significant numbers of the DVD to be produced and distributed. To date over 250,000 copies have been distributed to riders at events, shows and through the Bike press. In addition BikeSafe and the Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists both use sections of the DVD in their motorcycle training programmes.

To get hold of a copy, visit http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/11526.aspx

Campaigns focusing on Diesel Spills

7.9.5.1 Diesel spills create a hazard for all road users but especially cyclists and motorcyclists. The contamination of the highway by Diesel can also cause significant damage to the fabric of the carriageway requiring that surfaces be replaced before their design life would normally be reached.

A 'grass roots' campaign organised by riders, 'KillSpills', has sought to raise awareness of the problem with Central and Local Government, riders and, most importantly, the freight transport industry. Through a series of high profile rider events, recognition of those seeking to reduce the incidence of diesel spills and publicity materials, the group hopes to reduce the danger of such spills to riders.

7.9.6.1 As part of its HGV safety information campaign www.heavygoodvehicle.com the Highways Agency is working in partnership with a number of organisations to distribute 180,000 anti diesel-spill stickers across industry and the public sector. The stickers are designed to be placed next to the fuel cap of commercial vehicles to raise awareness of the dangers of over-filling tanks.

7.10.1 Wherever possible any education, training or publicity measures should be evaluated in order to see if the desired outcomes have been achieved. As accidents are relatively rare occurrences it is likely that a combination of attitude change assessment and incident avoidance measurement will provide best feedback. Satisfaction surveys are unlikely to give valid results.

Accident data analysis will provide long term information but it is difficult to isolate the effect of factors external to the delivered measures. Future evaluation in the UK may use the protocols developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and used in the Motorcycle Accident In-Depth Study (MAIDS). MAIDS is a detailed review of almost a thousand motorcycle accidents across five countries in Europe (OECD 2001, ACEM 2004).