Realising the Motorcycling Opportunity

The Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) produced this policy document to encourage greater use of motorcycles on UK roads, which they say should improve road safety as a result.

The document, ‘Realising the Motorcycling Opportunity; a motorcycle safety and transport policy framework’, has been developed in response to a slowdown in the reduction in rider casualties.

ACPO and MCIA say encouraging rather than discouraging motorcycling should contribute to better safety outcomes, pointing to European data which shows that when a greater percentage of traffic is made up of motorcycles, mopeds or scooters, riders are less likely to be involved in an accident.

The policy document calls for motorcycles to be included in mainstream transport policy and sets out a framework of practical recommendations addressing how this might be achieved.

The partners also say there is a growing body of evidence which shows that if more people started their road careers on a motorcycle, scooter or moped, this would lead to improvements in driver behaviour towards all vulnerable road users.

Measures called for in the paper include: education for all road users; one theory test for all road users (currently there are different tests for motorcyclists and car drivers); compulsory road user awareness lessons within the school curriculum; and a culture of post-test training for all vehicle modes.