An evaluation of the effectiveness of a one day training programme for learner motorcyclists

A sample of 203 learner motorcyclists with no or minimal on-road riding experience was recruited from the general riding population. Half the riders underwent an eight-hour off-road training course. Performance on a practical skills test, attitude scale, and knowledge test was measured at the start of the experiment and, again, two months later. The untrained group committed significantly more errors on the skills test both immediately after training and also two months later. This difference was largely attributable to the failure of the untrained group to take rear observations correctly and also to maintain the balance of the machine and rider. Both groups showed some changes in attitude and some improvement in knowledge about motorcycling safety over two months but the difference between the trained and untrained groups were slight. Overall, the knowledge about some safety topics was extremely poor.