A model for motorcycle road safety plans

The US was the first western nation to take a strategic approach to the increasing motorcycle road toll with the publication of the National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety in 2000.1. The National Agenda set the agenda with identified issues and recommended actions to improve motorcycle safety. A range of plans and strategies have subsequently been developed by rider associations and road authorities around the world. Analysis of eleven plans from Europe, Australia and USA reveals two distinct approaches to the development of such plans. Those which focus broadly on motorcycling as a form of transport with associated road safety issues, and those which focus more narrowly on crash incidence and injury reduction strategies. A model for the development of motorcycle safety plans has been devised from this analysis. Working from the baseline established by the National Agenda, the model is flexible to allow for plans to make provision for emerging issues, new technology and research findings. The objective is to provide a systematic structure and process in the development of plans to promote ownership of priorities and countermeasures by all stakeholders. A key feature of the process is the clarification of objectives for the initiating organisation and other stakeholders.