Branding biking as a means of enhancing well-being: Safety education for preventing fatal or severe biker accidents
Background and Objectives
During an industry discussion as part of an independent research project in the year ended March 2024, attendees highlighted necessary actions to encourage effective biking to build a positive brand image for biking: create a biking culture, improve the image of biking, and ensure that the biking industry as well as the bikers fulfill their social responsibilities. The key findings of this discussion were that, given recent road accident trends, reducing fatal or severe biker accidents and improving the image of biking would lead to a reappraisal of biking as an effective means of transport; that such reappraisal would encourage greater use of two-wheelers (for practical use or for other aspects of biker culture); and that this increase in biking would contribute to general well-being. This project will analyze the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association’s road accident data to derive strategies for reducing biking accidents, create content for a safety education program, and identify ways to effectively disseminating the program. Thereafter, will be issue recommendations based on the findings and collaborate with industry and government (an academia-government-industry collaboration) to roll out the interventions. The project has set a target for 2030 for achieving the following aims: fatal biker accidents halved and the interventions expanded internationally.
Expected Results
This project will help reduce biking accidents by preparing, and establishing a method to disseminate, educational content that is evidence-based and visually appealing to general bikers. Initially, we will focus on the following actions:
Year 1: We will run helmet-loss tests under a wide range of conditions. The data will be analyzed to scientifically identify the factors that cause helmet loss. Based on the available evidence, and depending on improvements in safety education approaches and a revision of the Road Traffic Act, efforts will be made to reduce helmet-loss rate from the current figure of 30% for all fatal biker accidents in Japan (approximately 500 according to the latest data) to approximately 10%.
Year 2: Based on the data from the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis, we will analyze case studies in which a bike collided with a four-wheeled vehicle. Accordingly, we will derive recommendations regarding strategies for raising safety awareness among all license holders. We will prepare recommendations for
educational opportunities using educational content and educational strategies (including lectures delivered to individuals who renew their license) designed to reduce accidents between bikers and other road users, something that has not been covered to date.