Eight keys to create a safety plan for motorcyclists

Concerns about motorcycle road accidents have become a global phenomena. In Latin America, a factor that contributes to the increase in the rate of accidents is the widespread use of motorcycles. For example, in Brazil, more than 10,000 motorcyclists day each year, while in Colombia, the road users with the highest death rate are motorcyclists.

In this scenario, an improvement in road safety can only be achieved with the participation of all the social actors involved. The publication "Methodology to Develop Road Safety Plans for Motorcycles" proposes some basis for the public administration to develop a method that will enable the establishment of minimal agreements and the finding of effective solutions.

The road safety strategy for motorcycle mobility requires managing diversity and centralizing the approach in order to achieve a shared vision where agreements and commitments are established.  Based on these objectives, following are the suggested basis:

• Do not look for guilty parties. It is a problem shared by everyone, and everyone must contribute, from his position or responsibility, in finding a solution.
• Creating a plan is more important than the plan itself. There are many plans, but the most important thing is that everyone participates and feels it is their own. Do not rush.
• It must never be perceived as a plan against motorcyclists. It is a plan for motorcyclists.
• Motorcyclists must present it; it is their plan, and it is for them. They must commit to its application.
• Plans should be different for the highways and for the cities, because they address different problems and the solutions are different too.
• Caution and humility. It must be understood that there are no miraculous solutions, just a set of coherent and determined actions and  measures that in the end, little by little, will produce results.
• The plan is the roadmap. Just talking about accidents and the vulnerability of motorcyclists helps create awareness regarding the problem.
• Motorcyclists are not alone in the streets and highways, so the other users of public roads should be taken into consideration.