Hazard perception by inexperienced motorcyclists.

The literature suggests that car drivers with fewer crashes and older or more experienced drivers respond more quickly on hazard perception tasks, and that at least some types of training can improve hazard perception abilities for car drivers. However, the nature and likely consequences of hazards for motorcyclists differ, and the relationships between novice status, level of experience and age are complicated for motorcycle riders. A limited re-examination of motorcycle crash data showed that crash risk decreased as a function of years of on-road riding experience but not as a function of inexperience per se. Failure to respond appeared to reflect a failure of hazard perception but did not change systematically with experience. In general, younger and less experienced riders were more likely to report behaviours consistent with good hazard perception techniques than older and more experienced riders. However, these findings are clouded by differences in training and uncertain reliability of self-report data. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E208180.