Operating a motorcycle safely in traffic in Thailand requires special skills and knowledge. Safe Driver Education Company Limited is making this course available to help Thai motorcyclists reduce their risk of having a crash. The course covers essential safe riding information and has been designed for use in SDE training programs. The course does not contain actual vehicle maneuver training; it is recommended that riders attend specialized training courses for these skills. The training emphasizes teaching riders the knowledge and information needed to prevent a precipitating event from occurring, rather than how to react after it has already occurred. All Thai motorcyclists can benefit from the information this course contains.
Motorcycling can be quite a challenge, not just in learning the controls and acquiring maneuvering skills, but also in finding a safe way through real-world traffic. If you’re willing to embark on a journey that develops the special skills and strategies of a good motorcyclist, this course is for you. Your experience and participation will lead to a better understanding of the riding maneuvers and the mental skills necessary to enjoy motorcycling to the fullest.
This course covers the basic fundamentals for you to develop your capabilities to become a safe and responsible motorcyclist. It provides the opportunity for you to learn the physical and mental skills important for operating a motorcycle. In the classroom, you will learn ways to minimize risk and handle special riding situations.
There have been three major international studies of Motorcycle accident causation conducted by responsible organizations:
1. The Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, Volume 1: Technical Report, Hurt, H.H., Ouellet, J.V. and Thom, D.R., Traffic Safety Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90007, Contract No. DOT HS-5-01160, January 1981 (Final Report). This study is the Hurt study at the done at the University of Southern California; it covered 900 motorcycle crashes that occurred in Los Angeles in 1976-77 [Hurt et al., 1981].
2. A comprehensive study was done using nearly identical research methods in Thailand, where data was collected on 1082 accident-involved riders in 1999-2000 [Kasantikul, 2002a, 21002b]. Motorcycle Accident Causation and Identification of Countermeasures in Thailand (Volume I: Bangkok Study. Volume II: Up-Country Study.) Vira Kasantikul, M.D. Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thailand.
3. The most comprehensive in-depth data available for Powered Two Wheelers (PTWs) accidents in Europe" was published by the European motorcycle-industry organization that funded it. Officially titled Motorcycle Accidents In-Depth Study (MAIDS), the report is based on investigations of 921 motorcycle accidents (including 103 fatality accidents) from study areas in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain; published in September 2004.
Safe Driver Education Co. Ltd. has incorporated findings from these reports in its course on Motorcycle Safety in Thailand. The purpose of this course is to educate the reader to help avoid crashes while safely operating a motorcycle in Thailand. It is, therefore, of critical importance to consider the findings of the Thailand study.
In the USA and Europe motorcycle usage is most often for recreational purposes and their motorcycle population is much less than the motorcycle population of Thailand, where the motorcycle is a primary means of transportation and mobility for most of the population. Thailand has 13 million motorcycles registered; these are mostly operated by young, unskilled riders.
The SDE Motorcycle Safety course is delivered in a classroom setting. No facilities are provided for actual training on motorcycles or on a simulator. Students are advised to find facilities where they can safely practice maneuvers, such as those developed in Thailand by AP Honda Company Limited (Thailand). The decision not to include actual rider training was based on a basic finding of the Thailand study which said:
Collision avoidance skills tend to focus on braking and swerving in response to a threat, yet it is difficult to show that these skills actually have the desired effect. The Hurt study reported that the great majority of riders in 900 crashes showed very poor avoidance skills. About one-third took no evasive action at all. Most of those who did take evasive action either chose the wrong action or executed their chosen action poorly, or both. Rider training had no effect on collision avoidance performance. Similar findings were reported in Thailand, where only one rider had formal training. Half of all Thai riders took no evasive action and 64% of those who did failed to choose the best action, while 60% failed to execute properly whatever evasive action they did choose. However, Thai riders were far less likely to lose control in a braking slide-out than riders in Los Angeles (20% vs.40%). This suggests that, for some reason, Thai riders did a better job of collision avoidance than their American counterparts.
Both the Thailand and Hurt studies concur that the time from the precipitating event that begins the collision sequence to the impact itself is so short – less than three seconds in the great majority of cases – that even a well-chosen, well-executed evasive action is unlikely to be effective. This suggests that rider training should emphasize teaching riders the knowledge and skills needed to prevent a precipitating event from occurring, rather than how to react after it has already occurred.