ACEM and German Road Safety Council signed a letter of intent in 2014 to establish the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label, followed by some conceptual work and framework actions (set-up list of criteria and evaluation methods and procedure). Training bodies were contacted and as a result some potential applicants were identified.
The European Motorcycle Training Quality Label was officially launch at the annual ACEM Conference: http://www.acem.eu/item/332-motorcycleindustry-in-europe-launches-new-eu...).
The first programme awarded with the label was ‘Early risk perception’ offered by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Motorrijders Vereniging (KNMV), the biggest training provider in the Netherlands.
As a second step, 22 German training programmes received the label.
Subsequently, the French Association for the Training of Motorcyclists (AFDM, Association pour la formation des motards) was also awarded the label for their ‘Stages de perfectionnement’.
Other label programmes are provided by KTM Riders Academy, the Honda Safety Institute in Spain and the Sveriges MotorCyklister (SMC) in Sweden.
All certified programmes can be found here - https://motorcycle-training-label.eu/motorcyclists/
In October 2018, the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), the leading governing body in motorcycle sports, which represents 113 motorcycle federations and has been active in the field of road safety for many years, joined the consortium of the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label.
The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), the most important NGO in the field of road safety in Europe, then decided to join the scheme as a supporting member.
Institutional recognition - Recently, in April 2019, the European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc expressed her satisfaction with this initiative, praising the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label for responding to the Commission’s call for voluntary commitments.
Good Practice
European Motorcycle Training Quality Label
European Motorcycle Training Quality Label
The European Motorcycle Training Quality Label is a certification scheme open to any organisation based in the EU offering advanced safety training (i.e. schools for motorcyclists, manufacturers, public bodies).
The European Motorcycle Training Quality Label was launched in September 2016 and is open-ended.
To access the label there is a set of stringent criteria in four main categories:
• content of the training programme
• methodology
• qualification of trainers
• quality assurance
After the applicants have submitted their application, in English or German, the experts from the German Road Safety Council (DVR) provide the first assessment. If the result is positive, they evaluate the programme on site. In order to get the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label, the programme must obtain at least 40% for each category or 60% in total.
The European Training Quality Label is granted for a period of 4 years and can be renewed. In order to ensure that the training programme continues to be delivered to a high standard, there is a system of annual monitoring by DVR experts, who operate evaluation checks on an annual basis.
The Label is awarded to a specific programme, not to the institution or the training centre that delivers it. A training provider offering the same training programme in different locations should apply only once. Likewise, training providers offering the same programme can apply together and share the costs of the application procedure.
The innovative character of the scheme is linked to the nature of its partners. It is the first time in history that the motorcycle industry, the NGO sector and an organisation representing motorcyclists have come together with a common EU-wide initiative to improve motorcyclists’ safety.
The Label is also innovative in the sense that for the first time, motorcyclists in Europe will have a simple but effective way to find out whether a training programme is of a high quality.
The Label aims to promote programmes that combine traditional approaches to motorcycle safety (i.e. riding skills) with more innovative ones (e.g. risk-perception and hazard awareness).
Links (website, social media, ...)
Attachments
What problem did you address/are you addressing?
The latest figures show that the safety of motorcyclists in Europe has not progressed at the same pace as that of car occupants. In 2017, motorcyclists represented 15% of all fatalities. The situation is even worse amongst those seriously injured, where the percentage of motorcyclists is even higher.<br><br>It has been scientifically proved that, in most accidents and near accident situations, other vehicle drivers fail to see an approaching motorcycle. Sometimes the speed or behaviour of the motorcyclist is misjudged. While in other cases, motorcyclists themselves adopt dangerous behaviour.<br><br>That is why practising risk perception, through life-long training, is a key component within an integrated road safety approach encompassing human factors, vehicle technology and infrastructure. <br><br>Voluntary post-licence training allows riders to upgrade their skills, enhance their risk perception and increase their safety awareness. It is recommended for all riders, particularly those who are upgrading to a more powerful vehicle or who stopped riding for an extended period of time and now want to start again.<br><br>There are currently hundreds of post-licence training schemes available across Europe, but the quality really varies and it is not easy for riders to make the right choice. The objective of the label is to help them identify the best safety training programmes in their countries, ensure the programmes are of a high quality and that safety is the key component.<br>The ultimate goal of this European initiative is to increase the number of riders attending voluntary safety-oriented courses and thus improve riders’ safety performance in the European Union.<br><br>Firstly, and as mentioned above, without clear information, it is difficult for motorcyclists to pick the best post-licence training programmes. The label addresses this critical issue. <br>Secondly, riders who have their licence usually stop training and rely on a limited set of skills. The Label promotes a life-long approach to motorcycle training which will improve motorcyclists’ safety on the road. <br><br>Thirdly, the initiative targets a group regarded as a top priority by the EC. Motorcyclists represent 15% of all road fatalities in Europe, and urgent action is needed to improve the situation.<br>
What are your objectives?
To create conditions for certified programmes to learn from each other and the label will facilitate those exchanges on motorcycle training.
To create a strong incentive for the best training centres to apply to the scheme to distinguish themselves from others that are not as good. If other centres decide to apply, they will need to raise their quality standards.
To certify at least one training provider per member state in the next few years, to maximise the initiative’s benefits in terms of safety.
To identify the best post-licence motorcycle training programmes in Europe, to make it easier for motorcyclists to find out where to get the best possible training.
To increase the number of riders undergoing voluntary safety training
To contribute to improved riders' safety performance
To create a European newtork of excellence of high-quality voluntary safety training
Who was/is your target audience?
Describe the characteristics of your target audience
As mentioned before, once people get their driving licence, they tend to stop training, whereas life-long training plays a very important role in preserving motorcyclists’ safety on the road.<br><br>Post-licence training allows riders to upgrade their skills, enhance their risk perception and increase their safety awareness.<br><br>Post-licence training is recommended for all riders, particularly those who are upgrading to a more powerful vehicle or who stopped riding for an extended period of time and now want to start again.<br>
How many people did you reach/have you reached?
List the actions you carried/are carrying out
Date
Wednesday, 7 September, 2016
Name of action
How did you disseminate/are you disseminating results or how did you promote/are you promoting your initiative?
The European Motorcycle Training Quality Label was introduced at the annual ACEM conference in 2016 and presented at numerous international and European events, including the International Transport Forum organised by the OECD in 2018, the International Motorcycle Safety Conference (IFZ), a TISPOL conference, a PACTS safe conference, etc. <br><br>In addition, several press releases in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish were issued to maximise press coverage and disseminate information about the initiative. Several press articles have been published about the Label. <br><br>ACEM website: every time a programme is awarded the label, or a stakeholder engages with it, an article and a press release are issued.<br><br>European Motorcycle Training Quality Label website: https://motorcycle-training-label.eu.<br>The website serves as the main platform for both providers that wish to be certified and motorcyclists seeking information on high-quality post-licence training courses. It is constantly updated with newly certified institutions and all the info about the scheme. It contains also testimonies from trainees attending safety training courses in different countries.<br><br>Media Coverage: many articles on the Label were published by general press and specialist press - Vision Zero International, Pan European Networks, and several motorcycle magazines. Awareness of the Label among motorcyclists is already relatively high. There is a dedicated section ‘In the media’ on the Label website.<br><br>Stakeholders support: many stakeholders have promoted the Label via their websites and social media channels: FIM, EFA, FIA, ETSC, FEMA, the Forum for Mobility and Society. <br>
How did you evaluate/are you evaluating the success of your action?
To date, a total of 28 post-licence motorcycle training programmes have been certified in Sweden, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany. Further applications are currently under evaluation.<br><br>Some of the certified programmes have a considerable impact on motorcycle training. The Swedish Association of Motorcyclists (SMC), for example, trained more than 10,000 motorcyclists in 2018. <br><br>The Honda Safety Institute in Barcelona trained about 3,000 motorcyclists in 2017.<br>In Belgium, the VSV (Flemish Foundation for Traffic Knowledge) has been inspired by the label to set up a common, high-quality training programme which is now used by 9 training schools (currently under evaluation).<br>In 2019, following a formal presentation of the Label to EC officials, the European Commissioner for Transport endorsed the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label. In her statement, the Commissioner said: “We are grateful that the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label has been set up, responding to our call for voluntary commitments by the industry”.<br><br>The video message from the European Commissioner is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEq_J4Nhpgc<br>
Who carried/carries out the evaluation activities?
External evaluation
Internal evaluation
When did/will you carry out the evaluation?
Before, after and continuous monitoring
Please list the indicators you use to measure success
number of certified programmes
number of riders undergoing voluntary training offered by the certified school
number of newly established post-licence voluntary training programmes
number of countries with at least one high-quality voluntary training programme
Please describe the evaluation tools you use (i.e. surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc.)
https://www.dvr.de/praevention/sht-shp/acem/index.html (please see brochure and criteria list 1 and 2)
Initial evaluation of the training programme content, training for trainers handbooks, manuals, etc
After the applicants have submitted their application, in English or German, the experts from the German Road Safety Council (DVR) provide the first assessment. If the result is positive, they evaluate the programme on site.
The European Training Quality Label is granted for a period of 4 years and can be renewed. In order to ensure that the training programme continues to be delivered to a high standard, there is a system of annual monitoring by DVR experts.