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Evaluation Of Bikesafe Scotland
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. This report presents the findings of research evaluating the Bikesafe Scotland initiative. Bikesafe Scotland is a multi-agency initiative aimed at reducing the number and severity of crashes involving motorcyclists in Scotland. It was launched in 2000, and, to date, its main component has been the Police Assessed Ride programme. The Assessed Ride programme offers free on-the-road assessments of motorcycling skills from trained police motorcyclists to all holders of a full motorcycling licence in Scotland.
2. The research consisted of five main components. First, desk-based analysis of accident statistics was carried out in order to present a picture of motorcycle accidents in Scotland. Second, a self-completion before-and-after survey was carried out with people who took part in the Bikesafe Scotland Assessed Ride programme between mid-June and late-September 2002. Third, a separate self-completion questionnaire was sent to people who took part in assessed rides in 2001. Fourth, in-depth telephone interviews were carried out with representatives from the organisations involved in running Bikesafe Scotland. Finally, in-depth phone interviews were carried out with stakeholders from the motorcycle industry.
Motorcycle accidents in Scotland
3. The number of motorcyclists killed or injured on Scotland's roads fell in the early 1990s but has increased again since 1997. In 2001, there were 1,174 motorcycle casualties in Scotland - the highest number since 1992. Older motorcyclists, aged over 30, account for an increasing proportion of casualties. While 30-39 year olds accounted for just 14% of all motorcycle casualties in 1991, by 2001 they accounted for 35%.
4. While over half of motorcycle accidents occur in built-up areas, the proportion of accidents in non-built up areas is increasing. Further, accidents in non-built up areas are more likely than accidents in built-up areas to be fatal or serious.
Bikesafe Scotland
5. Approximately 1,769 assessed rides have been carried out in the three years since the launch of Bikesafe Scotland. Although the number of assessed rides carried out in some force areas has declined during this period, the main reason for this appears to be resource difficulties rather than declining applications.
6. The vast majority of Bikesafe Scotland participants are male and 67% fall into the 35-44 and 45-54 year-old age groups. Twenty-nine per cent of respondents to the pre-course survey were aged 35 or older when they obtained a full motorcycle licence, while around a fifth had returned to riding in the last five years after a break in riding of a year or more. This suggests that Bikesafe is attracting some riders who might be classed as 'born again bikers'. Forty-three per cent of respondents had gained their motorcycle licence through the Direct Access scheme, which allows riders aged over 21 years to ride a bike of any size once they pass their test.
Views on the Assessed Ride programme
7. Almost 100% of respondents to the 2002 post-course survey and the survey of 2001 participants said that they found the Bikesafe Scotland Assessed Ride programme 'very' or 'fairly useful'. The vast majority 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' that they would recommend the scheme and that all bikers should be encouraged to go on it. There was some suggestion that the assessed ride was not long enough however. A fifth of respondents 'disagreed' or 'strongly disagreed' with the statement "the assessed ride took just the right amount of time", while a similar proportion 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' that it "was not long enough to learn much".
8. Qualitative interviewees highlighted the fact that Bikesafe Scotland is free, that it is run by the police and that it has improved relations between the police and the motorcycling community. Lack of resources was seen as a major problem for the Assessed Ride programme. This in turn made improving publicity to attract greater numbers difficult. Interviewees also expressed concern about whether Bikesafe encourages participants to take further training, and whether it is successful in reaching key target groups. While it was suggested that Bikesafe does attract 'born again bikers', it was seen as less successful in attracting sports bike riders. Although 27% of respondents to the 2002 pre-course survey said they rode sports bikes, suggesting Bikesafe does attract some participants from this group, there may be a case for focusing more on this target group if they are seen as particularly vulnerable.
Impact on rider attitudes and behaviour
9. Findings on the impact of Bikesafe Scotland on the behaviour and attitudes of participants were somewhat mixed. There seemed to be an improvement in the proportion of respondents saying they 'never' or 'hardly ever' "brake too quickly on a slippery road" or "find your back wheel slipping away when you take a bend, almost causing you to lose control". These types of riding behaviour appear to be associated with control over the bike. Since "loss of control" was identified as the most common precipitating factor in fatal motorcycle accidents where the motorcyclist was judged to be primarily responsible in a TRL report based on analysis of police fatal accident reports (Lynam et al, 2001), this appears to be a positive outcome for Bikesafe.
10. Participants also seem to feel that Bikesafe has a positive impact on their riding behaviour. Less than 5% of participants agreed with the statement "Bikesafe did not make any difference to the way I ride my bike" and over three quarters agreed that Bikesafe had taught them to ride more defensively. 'Defensive riding' is difficult to measure quantitatively. However, around a third of all respondents said that the most useful elements of Bikesafe were tips about 'traffic awareness, looking ahead and reading the roads correctly' - all elements associated with defensive riding - which suggests that Bikesafe was fairly successful in promoting defensive riding.
11. In relation to riding speed, however, while the proportion of respondents saying they would normally ride below the speed limit in roads in built-up areas increased after participation in Bikesafe, the proportion saying they would ride at 10 or more miles above the speed limit on faster roads in non-built up areas also increased. The proportion of post-course participants who say they often exceed the speed limit on motorways and on country roads is higher than the proportion of pre-course participants, while a higher proportion of post-course participants say they 'never or hardly ever' exceed the speed limit in town. Although the proportion of respondents indicating increased speed post-Bikesafe is relatively small - for example, the proportion of respondents indicating 'normal' speeds above the speed limit on two faster roads increased by 13% post-Bikesafe - Ggiven that the proportion of serious and fatal motorcycle accidents is much higher in non-built up areas, the findings relating to participants' speeds on these roads are cause for concern.
Potential improvements and Iissues for the fFuture
12. In terms of improving the Bikesafe scheme, the findings on speeding, discussed above, suggests that there may be a need for a greater focus on attitudes to riding as part of the Assessed Ride programme. It may be that some riders are engaging in 'risk compensation' after taking part in Bikesafe - they feel that they have become better riders and are therefore better equipped to ride at speed. Focusing on attitudes to riding as part of the course could address this issue by aiming to curb riders' confidence in their ability to ride safely at speed, and in fact several forces have already modified their Bikesafe programme to focus more on riding attitudes. The research also found that two-thirds of 2002 Bikesafe participants said their assessor had not suggested they undertake any further training. This suggests that the advanced training message could also be better promoted by Bikesafe organisers.
13. Some of the stakeholders interviewed thought there might be scope to involve trainers from the private or voluntary sectors in running Bikesafe Scotland or a similar scheme. However, it was recognised that this would create various difficulties around charging, resources and the credibility of these trainers. Private trainers would be unlikely to offer provision free of charge, while it was suggested that there is a shortage of advanced motorcycle trainers in some areas of Scotland. Further, motorcycle instructors are not currently accredited by the DSA, so there might be an issue over how to establish that the private trainers who become involved have the necessary qualifications and experience to do so.
14. Interviews with stakeholders from the motorcycle industry suggested that there is some scope for involving them more in promoting and supporting Bikesafe Scotland or similar intiatives. In fact, some of the retailers interviewed were already involved in Bikesafe Scotland through customer evenings and in-store promotion. Interviews with stakeholders also suggested that there may also be some scope to negotiate discounts for Bikesafe participants with some motorcycle retailers and insurers. This could be one way of encouraging more motorcyclists from hard-to-reach groups to attend.
15. There was support among interviewees for some kind of diversionary scheme for motorcyclists, similar to the Driver Improvement schemes that operate for car drivers. However, offering Bikesafe assessed rides as an alternative to prosecution was seen as problematic since it does not involve any instruction and there are already problems with limited resources. It was also felt that offering a police-run scheme as an alternative to prosecution might be seen as a conflict of interest, and that using Bikesafe in this way might deter other motorcyclists who have not committed offences from taking part.
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