Returning motorcycle rider refresher training in South Australia

On average around 15 motorcyclists die and 140 are seriously injured on South Australian roads each year. There were also 376 minor injury crashes involving a motorcycle on average per year over the 5 year period, 2010-2014. Motorcyclists have become a larger part of serious road casualties trending upwards from 11% in 2005 to 17% in 2014 whilst motorcycles have accounted for just above 3% of all registered vehicles during this time. Older riders (aged 45+) are accounting for an increasing proportion of motorcyclist crashes. Analysis of motorcyclist serious casualty data was undertaken to determine who were likely to be returning riders. That is; riders aged 45 years or over at the time of the crash, who had held a motorcycle licence longer than 10 years and had returned to riding in the past 6 months, after not having a motorcycle registered to them for at least 5 years prior to the crash. Data analysis indicates that around one rider fatality, 13 rider serious injuries and around 28 rider minor injuries on average per year may have been a returning/returned rider. It is possible that some of these casualty crashes could have been avoided if the riders involved had undertaken a riding skill refresher training course. South Australia's Road Safety Action Plan 2013-2016 contains a priority to encourage returning riders to undertake a motorcycle skills refresher training course. The Rider Safe Returning Rider Course has been developed as a tailored program that will allow participants to practice the riding skills, knowledge and techniques to potentially reduce their road crash risk. The course is designed to teach / refresh riding skills, techniques and awareness for licensed riders and following a public communication campaign, and targeted mail out to returning riders, operational training courses are planned to commence in September 2015.