Considerations should be given to Educate Car Driver

Considerations should be given to Educate Car Driver

Driver education can be crucial in reducing the number of motorcyclist deaths caused by careless car and van drivers. Concrete steps can be taken by national authorities administering driving tests, by showing an informative video from a motorcyclist’s perspective in conjunction with a video showing the blind spots of car drivers and how this poses collusion danger to motorcyclists and car drivers before the hazard perception test during a theory test.

It is apparent that British motorcyclists are the most vulnerable group of road users despite accounting for less than 1% of motor vehicle flows. Motorcyclists are 57 times more likely to be killed than a car occupant per passenger mile travelled. 7 motorcyclists are kills on our roads every week on average, and 107 motorcyclists are seriously injured on average every week. According the UK Department for Transport, the most common contributory factor allocated to vehicles involved in accidents with motorcyclists was the failure of car or van drivers to look properly, accounting for the reasons for almost half of such accidents.

Junctions are particularly dangerous for motorcyclists, because it can be difficult for other road users to see them from their side mirrors. The failure to check blind spots while having to make a great number of vehicle movements at junctions greatly increase the likelihood of an accident. The majority of motorcyclists that are killed or seriously injured in road accidents occur at crossroads or t-staggered junctions. This means that the failure of car and light van drivers to look properly before they pull out of a junction poses a grave danger to motorcyclists.

The UK Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s driver testing consists of theory questions, hazard perception clips and the practical on road test. At the moment, the multiple-choice part of the British theory test includes questions about the vulnerability of motorcyclists, particularly in the adverse weather conditions, and about their visibility. The hazard perception part of the theory test includes many hazards involving motorcyclists; every candidate sitting the car theory test sees at least one hazard involving a motorcyclist. A lot more can still be done to further protect this vulnerable group of road users.

The diagrams provided in present UK driving tests for overtaking cyclists can be complicated for some people. It would be easier for learner drivers to visualise the hazards associated with blind spots when they drive their vehicles on the road, if we utilise existing technologies and provide a video for those taking the theory test.

The physical and psychological harm to motorcyclists and their families caused by careless drivers is preventable. Much more needs to be done to highlight blind spots at junctions and blind bends. An informative video, based on common accident scenarios, in a driving test to show a motorcyclist’s perspective in conjunction with the dangers posed by car drivers’ blind spot will make this clear to everyone taking the tests.