The promotion of motorcycle safety: training, education, and awareness

The past few decades have witnessed an increase in the popularity of motorcycles as a mode of transportation. Coincidental with this growth in use has been an increase in the incidence of collisions and the number of deaths and injuries. A wide range of prevention measures has been introduced to reduce these losses. This paper reviews those designed to improve the skills and knowledge of the motorcycle rider and examines the effectiveness of these countermeasures. Very little support for the beneficial impact of education/training can be found in the evaluation literature. This paper examines several possible explanations for this result including the need to focus more on rider motivations and attitudes than on skills and suggests areas for improvement drawn from the field of health promotion and education.