The IRT model European initial rider training programme was developed through the IRT Project, which was jointly funded by the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport of the European Commission, the Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations (FEMA), Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), the Association des Constructeurs Européens de Motocycles (ACEM) and Vägverket, the Swedish national road traffic authority. The Developing a European Approach to the Initial Training of Motorcyclists Project,TREN-SUB-2003-S07.30333, known as the Initial Rider Training Project, has considered the widely acknowledged problems of pre-licence rider training in Europe being widely variable in quality and or availability. The IRT Project has addressed one of the main problems affecting the quality of initial rider training, namely the concentration on machine control skills to the detriment of hazard awareness and rider attitude and behaviour. The relationship between newly qualified rider overconfidence, failing to recognise hazards and take risks and pre licence training that has overly focussed on machine control skills, has been recognised for a long time. Notwithstanding this the IRT Supervisory Board are unaware of any previous serious or structured endeavours to develop a pre-licence training programme that even attempts, let alone achieves a balance between machine control and hazard awareness. (Author/publisher)
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