OECD-workshop on motorcycling-safety - Lillehammer

Dear all,

I find the subject you are addressing here today very interesting, and it is therefore a great pleasure for me to be here today.

Riding a motorcycle is one of the more challenging things you can do in traffic. Not only is it a complex machine that moves in ”mysterious ways” and subsequently demands special skills and special competence, it is also by far the most dangerous vehicle to use. So, I am pleased that Norway, according to ETSC (European Transport Safety Council), is the least dangerous country to ride a motorcycle. The accident risk has dropped considerably over the last ten years. Nevertheless, 33 riders were killed on Norwegian roads in 2007 and over 600 were injured, many of these severly. It goes without saying that this is unacceptable. 

As far as I know, there have been some misunderstandings about motorcycles and Vision Zero. I would like to use this opportunity to put to sleep any rumours that motorcycles and the Norwegian Vision Zero-concept are incompatible. To be quite clear on this: We have of course no plans on banning the use of motorcycles in Norway, and there is absolutely no contradiction between riding a motorcycle and being included in Road Traffic Strategies as a responsible road user group.

On the contrary, we have an integrated approach towards motorcycle riders, as the Vision Zero obviously must include all groups of legal road users. And because motorcyclists are more vulnerable than many other road users, special attention must be given to this group when developing measures for accident prevention and injury reduction.

I will share with you some examples of such an integrated approach. I emphasize the importance of the contributions from user groups and rider instructors, working in close cooperation with the authorities in accomplishing what I believe is at least partly groundbreaking results:

• In initial rider training we have launched what I believe to be one of the most comprehensive programmes ever.
There will of course always be critical voices: -"Comprehensive, but also very expensive!”
Well, none of us have a birthright to drive any vehicle on public roads. You have to earn such a right by first acquiring, and then demonstrating, that you have the necessary skills. Given the accident risk, high competence is of special, and literally crucial, importance for potential motorcycle riders when it comes to accident prevention. Consequently, the authorities have a responsibility, in accordance with the Vision Zero, to secure as far as possible that every new rider who enters the Norwegian roads is equipped with custom-made tools that enable him or her to function and interact safely with others in a complex traffic environment. For motorcyclists this requires a comprehensive programme.

The overall theme in the initial training programme is a combination of machine control and efficient traffic strategies. Together this shall provide the rider with an abundant base of accident prevention tools. This programme will be evaluated from 2009. It should in my opinion be followed by a similar thorough review of the license test to secure optimal output of the programme.

• Another example is the Public Roads Administration ”Handbook on Motorcycle Safety”, also prepared in close cooperation with representatives of the user group and the national  traffic safety organisation. The need for such a handbook was associated with the fact that motorcyclists are a vulnerable group and that accidents usually result in severe injuries. The designing of road infrastructure is however often based only on the needs of four-wheeled vehicles. Thus, increased awareness and knowledge about powered two wheelers in planning, construction and maintenance will provide improved safety for motorcycle riders. The handbook is primarily written as a guide and reference for those who work on planning and construction of roads and traffic systems, but motorcyclists are encouraged to request safe roads with reference to the handbook. This will help the road authorities to pay the necessary attention both to motorcyclists and to the handbook.

• As an example of both accident prevention and injury reduction, I will draw attention to the "Vision Zero Motorcycle Road", opened this month in the county of Telemark. Vision Zero is mostly about infrastructure, and on this road particular attention has been given to motorcycles. Crash barriers fitted with sub-rails, forgiving side terrain, clearing of sight-hindering vegetation and carefully placing of signposts, are all measures of vital importance for motorcyclists. They are of course almost all of them also beneficial for all road users.

• I would also like to mention an initiative from the user group and the motorcycle dealers. As a follow-up on the new initial rider training, and to spread the practical use of the principles laid down in this training scheeme, the user organisation has produced two booklets on motorcycle safety called ”In Control” and ”Good Thinking”. These booklets have now been combined into one, which is provided for free to those who visit motorcycle dealers. The booklet gives an insight in both machine control and in traffic strategies and will hopefully spread professionally based knowledge on these topics, both to novice riders and also to the many self-appointed ”experienced” riders.

• As a last example I will point out that the road authorities has defined several high-risk road user groups that will be subject to a closer examination in a special project. Motorcycle riders are one of these groups. The purpose is to get a better understanding of the causes of motorcycle accidents, and consequently also a better understanding of effective measures to reduce the accident risk. And this is where I probably should repeat: Banning motorcycles is not on the table!

Finally I will emphasize that within the Vision Zero there has to be focus not only on measures such as forgiving infrastructure and advanced rider training. One of the most important elements still is, and will always be, the personal responsibility of any single road user.

We will continue to upgrade the infrastructure, and we will continue to supply even better training programmes and licence tests to make sure that the riders and drivers has been provided with the best possible tools for his or her safe interaction with other road users. In return we have to demand responsible and reflected traffic behaviour. Given the high accident risk, I am tempted to set his standard even higher for motorcycle riders than for any other users group.

It seems to be a belief amongst quite a few riders that they have access to a sort of "invisibility cape" a la Harry Potter as soon as they get on their bike, meaning that normal rules and regulations don’t apply to them. Well, the cape does not work! If anything, unacceptable road behaviour from a motorcycle rider is more visible to other users than the same behaviour from a motorist. It just gives a bad reputation and no goodwill. As studies of accident causes will show, riders need to be visible in traffic. But they need a positive kind of visibility - the kind that increases safety, and not the kind that creates aggression.

I need to point out that the vast majority of riders, as in other groups, are responsible road users and are behaving according to common rules and practice in traffic. They may even be some of the most competent road users because they have a genuine interest both in their own safety and in the ”magic” mastering a motorcycle. But, the ones that do not share this interest, are, due to the fact that a rider is relatively unprotected, also the ones most likely to end up dead or in a wheelchair. And how to reach those riders should be one of the main topics on the agenda when motorcycle safety is debated.

So in my view, a rather big challenge remains, namely how to change the kind of rider attitude that results in splitting lanes in high speed, considering speed limits to be merely guidelines and ignoring the use of blinkers. How do we reach those who have an almost unbelievable faith in their own riding skills, ignoring the fact that they only had their licence for two weeks? How do we get them to absorb and act according to the fact that the human body is a fragile thing and that it will most certainly break if loosing control over the "unprotected" motorcycle in high speed? How do we get them to absorb the fact that motorcycle riders, maybe more than any other group, is dependent on the attention and goodwill of other road users?

Motorcycles are an obvious part of the Vision Zero – but success will require serious commitment from both the authorities and the individual rider. In my opinion it is obvious that it is in the rider's own interest to take responsibility for his own safety. In the end, it is the rider that inevitably pays the highest price.

Good luck on this important workshop – and thank you for your attention!