Focus switches to motorcycling on Festival day 9

09.21 | 11 November 2021 | |

Day nine of the Festival of Road Safety shines a spotlight on motorcycling – with three presentations from key stakeholders in the sector.

Coming up first at 10am is the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG).

Colin Brown, the organisation’s director of campaigns and political engagement, presents ‘Welcoming Roads’ – a development of Vision Zero launched by MAG earlier this year.

For many years, MAG has voiced significant concerns about the Vision Zero concept. While supporting aspects of the approach, MAG believes the ideological goal of zero casualties ‘falls short of the test of pragmatism’.

‘Welcoming Roads’ promotes safer roads for all road user groups including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, horse riders and motorcyclists, and ‘seeks to preserve the successful aspects of Vision Zero whilst shedding unhelpful baggage’.

At midday, it’s the turn of Karen Cole, director of safety and training at the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA).

Karen’s presentation will consider what the Safe Systems approach means for powered two-wheeler riders.

It will cover the current situation, but will also take a look back, ‘as history provides some excellent and useful references’. The presentation will conclude with a glimpse into what the future could hold for riders and the implications for road safety.

Finally, at 2pm, Craig Carey-Clinch, executive director of the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) will present ‘Towards a UK Motorcycling Strategy – what are the barriers and opportunities?’.

This presentation discusses road safety and transport policy and what needs to be done to boost both investment and interest in motorcycle safety, and motorcycling as a form of transport, against a backdrop of wider government goals for the UK.

Rounding off week two
In a late change to the agenda, two presentations previously scheduled for later in the Festival have been brought forward to close week two on Friday 12 November.

At 10am, Chelsea Hughes, research assistant at Swansea University, will discuss a field trial of a revised version of the Self-Administered Interview for Road Traffic Collisions (the SAI-RTC) – a new tool that allows witnesses to road traffic collisions (RTCs) to produce detailed and comprehensive accounts of the collision.

Over a 20-month trial period, officers within the Roads Policing Unit of a Welsh police force were trained to use the SAI-RTC, or they continued to collect witnesses using a standard reporting form. Researchers compared the outcomes of cases in the two arms of the trial, and also compared the quantity and quality of information that witnesses provided in the SAI-RTC, and in the standard reporting form.

This is followed at midday by a presentation from James Parker, the executive officer of the London Road Safety Council.

This presentation will detail the London Road Safety Council’s ‘It’s a Jungle Out There’ campaign, which comprised social media and training resources.

The campaign set out to encourage parents to have a chat about road safety before their children started in Year 7, which involves negotiating a new route to a new school.

Weeks 3 and 4
The programmes for weeks 3 and 4 can be found on the Festival website. Weeks 3 and 4 sessions are subject to final confirmation in terms of dates and timings.

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The 2021 Festival is being organised by Road Safety GB and sponsored by Jenoptik. For more information contact either Nick Rawlings or Edward Seaman by email or on 01379 650112.


 

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