Better training, safer riding
The human factor is one of the most critical factors in accidents involving motorcycles. For this reason, the motorcycle industry is supporting life-long rider training for new and experienced motorcyclists, including pre-licencing and voluntary post-licensing training schemes.
Pre-licence training provides the basic skills and awareness needed for novice riders to use their vehicles safely on the road. Subsequently, advanced post-licence courses offer riders additional opportunities to increase their proficiency and safety as well as practice their hazard perception and risk awareness skills.
Post-licence training plays a key role in improving road safety, particularly for people who are upgrading to a more powerful motorbike, who are returning to riding after an extended period of time or for those who want to improve their riding skills and perception abilities. For many years, ACEM members have been offering high quality, tailored voluntary training options across the EU.
Launched in 2016, the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label has certified 35 motorcycle training programmes in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
The European Motorcycle Training Quality Label
Most of the training courses available across the EU, both at pre- and post-licence level, vary considerably across countries and schools due to different training requirements, specific vehicle use and the different levels of trainer’s qualifications, among other factors. Moreover, the quality of the thousands of different training schemes across the EU is heterogeneous and as there are so many options available, it is difficult for riders to identify the best ones and make informed decisions.
In order to address this information challenge, ACEM, the German Road Safety Council (DVR), and the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) joined forces and launched the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label in 2016. The Label helps riders to clearly and easily identify highquality post-licence training offers in their countries.
Visit the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label website to learn more.
Improving motorcyclists’ safety across Europe: Results
To date, only 3 years after the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label launch, 30 training programmes operating in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden have been certified. Riders are now well-informed about the best training offers in these countries.
The figures below show the impact of some of the labelled programmes on motorcycle training:
- The Honda Safety Institute in Barcelona trained about 3,000 motorcyclists in 2017.
- The Swedish Association of Motorcyclists (SMC) trained more than 10,000 motorcyclists in 2018.
- ADAC trained about 21,500 motorcycle riders in Germany in 2018.
The advanced motorcycling course of the Honda Safety Institute in Barcelona received the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label in 2018.
Institutional stakeholders supporting the Label: Recognition at EU level
In 2018 the European Transport Safety Council, the most important NGO in the field of road safety in Europe, acknowledged the importance of this initiative and joined the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label consortium as a supporter member.
In 2019, The European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, released a video message that acknowledged the key role played by the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label in improving motorcyclists’ safety across Europe.
“The award acknowledges inspirational and innovative initiatives that contribute towards improving road safety and saving lives” The same year, the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label received the European Commission Road Safety Charter Award, in the category “voluntary commitments”. The award acknowledges inspirational and innovative initiatives that contribute towards improving road safety and saving lives on Europe’s roads.
The Label is an excellent example of how cooperation between industry, NGOs, motorcycle trainers and user organisations can deliver positive results in motorcycle safety…..The European Motorcycle Training Quality Label also creates a strong incentive for training centres to distinguish themselves. It stimulates them to raise their quality standards, which will result in better safety training across Europe.
In October 2019 the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label received the Road Safety Charter Award in the “voluntary commitments” category.
Paving the way to high quality standards for motorcycle training
In the medium and long-term the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label will increase the visibility of the best training programmes available, paving the way towards higher quality standards for training in Europe.
ACEM expects to have at least one certified training centre per member state within few years, with the ultimate goal to increase the number of riders attending voluntary safety-oriented courses and thus improve riders’ safety performance in the European Union.
In the UK, for example, in 2013 the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) developed MCIA RIDE, a scheme to raise the level of professionalism in the training industry and therefore give a better experience to those entering the world of PTWs for the first time.
