MOTORCYCLE – MSF Attends INTERMOT, Sponsors Road Safety Seminar
The 5th annual International Conference on Transport and Road Safety took place on Sept. 13 and 14, prior to INTERMOT’s official opening. A trade-only event organized by the Institut für Zweiradsicherheit e.V. (Institute for Motorcycle Safety), Essen, Germany, and co-sponsored by the U.S.-based Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), the event brought an international array of researchers, scientists, technology experts and practitioners together.
More than 120 participants from 12 nations engaged in an interdisciplinary debate on the various aspects of current and future transport and road safety policy. Lectures and discussions included analysis of worldwide research on accidents, motorcyclist training, new technologies, and the environmental impact of two-wheelers.
MSF President Tim Buche and Director of Rider Training Systems Ray Ochs, Ed.D. were among the presenters.
Tim Buche’s presentation, A Proposal for Defining, Measuring, and Documenting the Effects of “Safety Renewal” — A Concept Whose Time Has Come, co-authored by MSF’s Dr. Sherry Williams and Allison Tyra, made the case that new research, with a rigorous methodological design, will more accurately depict the positive outcomes of motorcycle rider training, in particular the concept of “safety renewal.” As defined by the MSF, safety renewal occurs when a rider is involved in a comprehensive rider education and training system that includes introductory and advanced training courses with multiple entry points over a period of time.
Buche’s presentation summarized key research studies spanning the past 20 years in the areas of driver and rider education. It concluded that these previous research studies produced skewed and often contentious results because the research design did not accurately reflect the full range of positive outcomes associated with rider education and safety renewal.
Buche says a new research study includes a cooperative agreement between MSF and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) called the MSF RETS (Rider Education Training System) Discovery Project. Through a series of longitudinal studies, MSF will track three groups of riders: those with no training, those who take a single introductory course, and those who participate in ongoing safety renewal.
By comparing qualitative measurements that take into account variables not previously documented — such as ‘near misses’ — as well as traffic violations, crashes, and fatalities, the Discovery Project will attempt to demonstrate how involvement over time in a rider education and training system increases crash avoidance skills, reduces traffic violations and crashes, and increases safety awareness.
Divided into three parts, Ray Och’s presentation, Certification Processes for Motorcycle Safety Training Professionals, reviewed the history of certification practices, provides a snapshot of select safety-related organizations’ certification procedures, and outlined the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s certification and recertification processes for its RiderCoaches and RiderCoach Trainers.
Part 1 noted the development of educational processes in the United States, both for public schooling and for vocational training.
Part 2 presented the findings of a limited survey of select organizations that certify personnel to conduct training, providing a comparison of products and processes for initial certification training as well as ongoing processes for maintaining standards and vitality.
Finally, Part 3 provided the fundamental structure of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s RiderCoach Trainer Certification System, which may serve as a universal template for the development of certification processes for motorcycle safety education and training specialists.
