Appendix B. NAMS Recommendations by principal audience and topic
- States, communities, and rider groups
- Alcohol and other drugs
28. Continue to discourage mixing alcohol and other drugs with motorcycling.
29. Educate law enforcement about unique alcohol-related behavior of motorcyclists.
30. Encourage partnerships with groups already involved in alcohol/substance abuse issues related to motor vehicle crashes, e.g., Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).
- Protective equipment
31. Use effective strategies to increase the use of FMVSS 218 compliant helmets.
32. Educate motorcyclists about the value of protective apparel by providing an information source on related research and a forum for the exchange of information.
33. Find ways to more effectively communicate the benefits of helmet use and work toward making voluntary use of FMVSS 218 compliant helmets more widely accepted.
34. Use effective strategies to ensure that all helmets in use meet FMVSS 218.
- Motorcycle operator training and education
6. Explore public service announcements, advertising in enthusiast and near-enthusiast media, and any other viable avenues for distributing safety information.
9. Expand motorcycle safety programs to accommodate all who need or seek training.
11. Merge rider education and training and licensing functions to form one-stop operations.
38. Remind motorcyclists that they may be overlooked and provide defensive strategies for overcoming this situation.
57. Provide additional training and education on proper braking and panic-braking techniques.
59. Educate users about how modifications and loads can change the operating characteristics of their motorcycles.
61. Encourage motorcyclists to enhance their conspicuity.
66. Educate motorcyclists about lane-use strategies, including HOV lane usage.
72. Educate motorcyclists about the hazards created by common roadway defects and maintenance methods. Emphasize riding skills required to negotiate these hazards through education and training.
76. Educate motorcyclists about strategies to overcome the challenges that the designs of other vehicles create in the traffic environment.
- Licensing
11. Merge rider education and training and licensing functions to form one-stop operations.
16. Identify and remove barriers to obtaining a motorcycle endorsement.
17. Develop and implement programs to allow all state motorcycle safety programs to issue motorcycle endorsements immediately upon successful completion of rider training courses.
18. Enforce penalties for operating a motorcycle without a proper endorsement.
19. Encourage states and jurisdiction to provide motorcycle specific training to license examiners administering testing for motorcyclists.
- Motorist education
37. Educate operators of other vehicles to be more conscious of the presence of motorcyclists.
39. Include questions regarding motorcyclists on driver’s license tests and include information in driving manuals.
40. Include the completion of a motorcyclist awareness class in sanctions against motorists found guilty of violating a motorcyclist’s right-of-way.
49. Appropriate sanctions should be applied to those found guilty of contributing to motorcycle crashes. The sanctions, such as mandatory attendance at a motorcycle awareness course, would be designed to expand knowledge of motorcycle issues.
- Highway and environment
70. Post specific warnings for motorcyclists where unavoidable hazards exist.
73. Take steps to remove slippery sealants and repair substances applied to road surfaces.
74. Educate road design and maintenance personnel about conditions that pose hazards to motorcyclists.
75. Reduce roadway debris such as that resulting from uncovered loads and shorn retreads.
- Management
12. Increase the number of states conducting Motorcycle Safety Program Assessments.
41. Adequate funding needs to be devoted to the development and implementation of motorist awareness issues.
45. Educate law enforcement and judicial officials about unique motorcycle safety issues and resources.
46. Encourage inclusion of law enforcement officials in Motorcycle Safety Program Assessments.
48. Include motorcycle crash investigation procedures in the basic course given to crash investigators.
50. Traffic safety organizations outside of the motorcycling community can better influence motorcycle safety issues by becoming more educated about motorcycle safety issues and adopt them where applicable.
51. Increase funding for motorcycle safety programs by elevating their importance to state highway safety offices.
52. Representatives of the motorcycle safety community should be integrated into the larger highway safety community to improve cooperative efforts.
63. Reconsider state requirements that prohibit safe conspicuity-enhancing modifications, including safe modification to lighting systems.
- Federal
- Research
1. Immediate action should be taken by government and industry to address the critical questions in motorcycle safety through comprehensive, in-depth studies as well as studies
focused on specific topics.
7. Study factors that affect and shape motorcyclists’ attitudes and behavior and how they affect crash involvement.
10. Conduct uniform follow-up research into the effectiveness and impact of rider education and training.
13. Establish benchmarks for rider education and training effectiveness and program operation excellence.
14. Explore the effectiveness of on-street training.
15. Commission studies to ensure that licensing tests measure skills and behaviors required for crash avoidance.
20. Develop an enhanced motorcycle licensing model using appropriate GDL concepts and evaluate its effectiveness.
21. Conduct research to determine which rider crash avoidance skills are most important.
23. Evaluate effectiveness of rider education and training in developing crash avoidance skills.
24. Evaluate the need for motorcycle simulator skills training.
25. Examine technological approaches such as pre-crash warning and avoidance systems to enhance crash prevention.
26. Study how alcohol, drugs and other substances, including over-the-counter medications, can affect a motorcyclist’s operating skills.
27. Study the alcohol, drug and other substance use patterns of motorcyclists.
36. Conduct research regarding protective apparel effectiveness, and consider development or adoption of existing standards, if research justifies.
58. Study the role of modifications in current motorcycle crashes.
60. Conduct research to determine why other motorists fail to see and identify motorcyclists and implement countermeasures.
64. Conduct research on the effect of automobile DRL on motorcycle safety.
65. Study the safety implications of lane splitting.
67. Identify and prioritize roadway hazards to motorcycle operation.
78. Investigate how the designs of other vehicles affect motorcycle safety.
- Data
2. To better utilize data collected by law enforcement personnel, a uniform traffic crash report for police officers should be developed and deployed. A similar format should also be developed for emergency medical services reports. This will permit meaningful comparisons among jurisdictions. All concerned parties should share the resulting information.
47. Develop and implement standardized data gathering and reporting for motorcycle crashes.
- Regulatory
35. Revise FMVSS 218.
71. Revise the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) so that signage better communicates roadway or construction conditions that present hazards to motorcyclists.
- Programs
8. Using information about how motorcyclists form attitudes about safety issues, create programs that reduce dangerous behavior and reinforce safe behavior.
22. Develop countermeasures in training, license testing, and motorcycle technology to address any current crash avoidance deficiencies.
- Information
4. Create a clearinghouse to distribute current, practical information about motorcycle safety based on recent research.
5. Develop research-based safety information that can be used easily by the consumer media and in rider education and training systems.
- Management
3. Mechanisms for building academic and funding capacity for ongoing and future motorcycle safety research should be explored.
41. Adequate funding needs to be devoted to the development and implementation of motorist awareness issues.
69. Create a working group to recommend changes to highway standards to increase motorcycle safety.
- Emphasize and promote motorcycle issues
50. Traffic safety organizations outside of the motorcycling community can better influence motorcycle safety issues by becoming more educated about motorcycle safety issues and adopt them where applicable.
68. Develop and revise highway standards on all levels – federal, state, county, and local – to reflect the needs of motorcyclists and encourage motorcycle-friendly design, construction, and maintenance procedures.
77. Emphasize motorcycle safety issues as a consideration in the design of other vehicles.
79. Integrate a motorcyclist treatment component in emergency medical personnel training.
80. Integrate a motorcyclist treatment component in first-aid/bystander care training and encourage motorcyclists to obtain this training.
81. Identify opportunities to utilize the EMS Agenda for the Future to promote motorcycle safety.
82. Include motorcycles in the design and deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems.
- Motorcycle manufacturers
53. Conduct research to determine how current motorcycle designs affect crash and injury causation.
54. Implement the use of available tire and wheel technology and explore technology, such as run-flat tires, to reduce frequency of loss-of-control crashes caused by puncture flats.
55. Study the effectiveness of linked and antilock braking in the field. If these technologies prove valuable, deploy them more widely.
56. Use information from research to implement other braking-related countermeasures.
62. Encourage manufacturers to make motorcycle apparel and parts conspicuous.
- Insurance companies
42. Insurers should write policies that stipulate that coverage or certain portions of coverage are not valid if the owner permits an unlicensed or improperly licensed operator to use the motorcycle.
43. Collect, organize, analyze, and distribute motorcycle-specific loss data from insurers to better understand safety issues, and to educate riders and other motorists on motorcycling safety issues.
44. Develop guidelines for insurers to tie approved training, licensing, and safe-riding practices to premium reductions
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