There is an on-going search for safety measures to improve road safety for motorcyclists. One popular measure is motorcycle training. Although often considered an effective road safety measure, there are only few thorough studies on rider training and they seldom show a positive safety effect. This study aims to assess – in compliance with scientific standards - the safety effects of the advanced rider train-ing ‘Risk’ by KNMV (Royal Dutch Motorcycle Association).
In 2012 the short term effects of this one-day training were evaluated (Boele & De Craen, submitted). Motorcyclists were randomly assigned to an experimental condition (n=137 followed the ‘Risk’ train-ing) and control condition (n=85). In 2013 and 2014 the long term effects, 1 to 1,5 year after the ‘Risk’ training, were evaluated with an extra post-test of the experimental group (n=77) and the control group (n=34) . At pre- and both post-tests, participants completed a questionnaire and their traffic behaviour was assessed in an on-road ride. A selection of participants took a hazard perception test at the post-tests. Results of the short term evaluation showed that trained participants were rated higher on safe riding than the control group in the on-road riding assessment. This effect was still present in the long term post-test. Overall the trained riders performed better on the hazard perception test at the short term post-test, but this difference between control and experimental group was not significant at the long term post-test. At none of the test moments trained riders were more positive about their own riding skills than the control group.
This study is a step forward to demonstrate that motorcyclists’ traffic behaviour can be positively in-fluenced by the right training. Crucial for this training is that it did not lead to overconfidence, while it quantifiably improved traffic behaviour even for the long-term.