What We Do / Injury Prevention / Evidence Based Road Signs
Evidence Based Road Signs to Reduce Motorcycle Collisions
In Dorset, it is traditional for road signs to go up around the county in the springtime to warn road users to look out for motorcycles. DocBike has been given the opportunity of using the evidence, research and the psychologists associated with our charity to design signs that will really make a difference in reducing the number of bikers killed or injured on our roads.
FACT:
Most motorcycle collisions in Dorset occur when the motorcycle is going ‘straight ahead’.
In a large number of cases – a vehicle of some other form moves into the path of the motorcyclist.
The motorcyclist for whatever reason – is unable to avoid the collision and sustains a serious injury or is killed (1).
FACT:
The human brain is very bad at ‘seeing’ small objects moving towards it, particularly at speed.
If the human brain does register a motorbike coming in its direction, it finds it hard to correctly judge its speed to work out how long it will take until it (for example) arrives at a junction (2,3).
In fact, there is a literal blindspot in the eye where small objects cannot be seen. Test this out for yourself below!
DocBike is a charity
We are the only charity in the world dedicated solely to keeping motorcyclists on two wheels. The DocBike charity works nationally to make the roads a safer place for motorcyclists, whilst at the same time, being there to help anyone in need by providing life-saving critical care.
The more experienced, more skilful riders amongst us recognise that whilst a vehicle pulling out in front of us is not our fault; it is us the rider that gets hurt. To avoid being knocked off our bikes, we cannot rely on other road users seeing us – the brain simply is not built that way.
“Think Bike” signs are great; but if we are to avoid being knocked off of our bikes, we need to be aware that we often are not seen and be able to stop/avoid that vehicle if it does pull out on us. We may not like it – but these are the facts!
The DocBike charity will never tell other bike riders what to do – we believe in the freedom that motorcycling brings and we want to preserve that.
We are passionate about understanding why bike collisions occur, and helping fellow bikers to understand the facts, so that they can avoid being in a collision themselves in the future.
We are also more than happy to teach people how to look after a fallen biker on the BikerDown courses (all for FREE!).
What is the point of the road signs?
We have worked with lots of people and organisations across Dorset to understand where and how bike collisions occur. Therefore we have the power to:-
- Help inform motorcyclists when an area is high risk for motorcycle collisions – to be extra vigilant for other vehicles pulling out on them
- Help make other road users aware that it is a motorcycle collision hot spot and to take extra care and pay extra attention for motorcyclists
We are also working with Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, to see what we can do to make these motorcycle collision hot spots less of a risk to bikers.
What do the signs need to do?
The only thing the signs need to do is save lives! But we would like to do this in a way that reminds us all that we share the roads with each other and encourages us to look out for each other.
We have teamed up with scientists to work out the best way to achieve this. To be effective they have to:-
- Be simple
- Be easily identifiable
- Give all road users an awareness of the increased risk of there being a bike collision in that area so that everyone can take this into account with their riding / driving / manoeuvring
Thank you for your input!
Following feedback from over 2,400 members of the community, we have designed two different signs. The first, “THINK BIKE” reminding all road users to take that extra moment to look for a bike, especially at junctions, where the brain finds it difficult to see motorcyclists travelling towards them at speed.
The second, “HAVE YOU BEEN SEEN?” reminding bikers they might not have been seen by other road users and that even though they have the right of way, being able to stop if a vehicle pulls out in their path might save their life.
A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the road signs survey. Following feedback from the survey, these road signs are being displayed in key locations across Dorset. The outcome of this research will be shared nationally, so you may well see the signs locally to you in future!
We’ve designed a leaflet that you can read and download to help you use these signs to keep you from being involved in a crash.
READ MORE about our road signs campaign.
References:
- RAC Foundation – Road Collision Investigation Project – Powered two wheeler casualty briefing Dorset. Matt Butler Sept 2020
- Perception & Appraisal of Approaching Motorcycles at Junctions – Crundall, Humphrey, Clarke; Transportation Research Part F (2008) 159-167
- Car Drivers’ Skills & Attitudes to Motorcycle Safety: A Review. Road Safety Research Report No 85. Department of Transport – May 2008