iRAP CEO Greg Smith was an expert trainer at the recent Delft Road Safety Courses: Powered Two-Wheelers (P2W) Workshop focussed on building the capacity of practitioners to improve road safety for PTWs particularly in low- and middle-income countries where usage has surged.

In recent decades, the use of P2Ws – ranging from motorcycles to scooters – has burgeoned as a family vehicle, means of recreation, and public transportation, especially in regions where infrastructure and traffic management systems have struggled to keep pace with rapid growth. However, the increasing reliance on P2Ws has led to a significant rise in road crashes.

Greg presented on the role of safe road infrastructure for PTWs within the Safe System, noting that iRAP Star Ratings providing an objective measure of the level of safety ‘built in’ to the road environment for this vulnerable road user group.

Dedicated motorcycle lanes, road alignment, skid resistance, surface and roadside hazards, and overtaking provision are all examples of infrastructure elements which can impact safety, and Star Ratings and Safer Road Investment Plans support the prioritisation of evidence-based infrastructure improvements to save ’ lives and reduce injuries.

The course was conducted online from 16 October to 11 December, and provided participants with the knowledge and skills needed to improve road safety for P2Ws. Topics covered included:

• Trends in motorcycle mortality and crashes in developing countries

• Effective strategies for reducing motorcycle crashes

• Evaluating infrastructure for P2Ws

• The role of certified helmets and personal protective equipment

• Developing awareness programs for motorcyclists

• Proposing regulatory measures and enforcement strategies

• Addressing work-related road safety and procurement practices

Participants also engaged with real-world case studies from LMICs, offering valuable insights into the challenges faced and solutions implemented in various regions.

“It was a pleasure to join the course and this important road safety initiative,” Greg Smith said. “The way we design, build, maintain, and improve our road networks in the coming years will have an enormous impact on the safety of powered two-wheelers around the world,” he added.

Since 2012, the Delft Road Safety Courses, organised in partnership with the FIA Foundation, have promoted safer mobility building the capacity of over 400 graduates from 80 countries. Read more on the PTW course here.

To learn more about improving PTW safety:

• See iRAP’s interactive Powered Two Wheelers and Road Infrastructure Safety Report which includes data for almost 500,000km of roads that have flows of PTWs in more than 80 countries here. The report enables users to filter the data by country, region, area type, flow and speed.
• Explore how safe your country’s roads are for motorcyclists using iRAP’s Safety Insights Explorer here.
• Compare the cost rating and effectiveness of different infrastructure countermeasures for motorcyclists in the iRAP Toolkit here.