Hazard perception skill is an important skill for road safety. There is a reasonable body of evidence that drivers with better hazard perception skill have fewer accidents, and also that the skill can be trained and may be especially beneficial to inexperienced road users (see e.g. Wells et al., 2008). Despite the great deal of work in hazard perception generally, there has been very little looking at this skill specifically in motorcyclists. This project sought to develop a measure of hazard perception skill and a training package to address this gap. The measure was based on the speed choice method used by McKenna, Horswill and Alexander (2006) and the training package based on having small groups of either experienced or novice motorcyclists engage in commentary and discussion using video clips filmed from a motorcycle. Results showed that both experienced and novice groups showed a sensitivity to the hazards in the test (through choosing lower speeds in those clips with hazards than in those without), but that experienced riders were more sensitive to the presence of hazards than novices were. The training intervention made novice riders reduce their speed choice but did not have any impact on those of experienced riders. The findings are discussed and next steps for the measure and the training package are outlined. (Author/publisher)
Abstract