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       A Scottish motorcycle safety project that uses ‘nudge psychology’ rather than punitive measures to influence riders’ behaviour has been so successful that it won the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award after its first trials.
       The PRIME project (which stands for Perception of Cyclist Information to Maximise Cycling Experience and Enjoyment) has been running for three years at 22 test sites in western Scotland. During that time, video recordings of 32,213 cyclists were manually reviewed, showing that cyclists at the test sites were slowing down, improving their position on the road on bends and mid-corners, and showing better braking performance. This is not some kind of training programme or expensive hard-enforcement project, but rather a simple set of road signs and markings.
       Since the start of the tests, the results have been impressive: not a single accident involving motorcyclists has occurred in the selected test locations.
       Developed by Transport Scotland, the Road Safety Trust and the Scottish EIA Foundation, and led by Professor Alex Stedmond from the University of Nottingham (also a cyclist), PRIME uses V-shaped road markings and corner signs to ‘nudge’ cyclists towards the centre of the lane, encouraging cyclists to take a safer route around corners to reduce the chance of collisions with oncoming vehicles.
       The programme’s success saw it win the Road Safety Programme of the Year award and the Judges’ Award for Outstanding Service at the British Transport Awards.
       The system itself is simple, involving what Stedmon describes as “three truncated V-shaped markings with a gap in the middle to create a channel for the riders to pass through,” but it took a lot of research to create. Not only did these V-shaped markings encourage riders to better position their bikes for upcoming turns, but at several stations they also forced riders to brake earlier and reduce the amount of braking they did mid-corner.
       Stedmond said: “I am honoured to receive this award for the PRIME project, which targets motorcyclists who are some of the most vulnerable road users.
       ”This work provides a unique opportunity to test key principles of applied psychology in real-world settings with tens of thousands of drivers. This work also forms the basis for the Scottish Road Safety Agenda 2030 and a wider systems approach to road safety.
       ”Throughout the PRIME project, we have engaged motorcyclists in developing this plan to reduce casualties so that they can accept and use road markings. This plan is designed by motorcyclists for motorcyclists.
       ”As a psychologist and keen motorcyclist, I am proud to have led this research. Although the solution may seem simple, the science behind it is complex. However, this research would not have been possible without the support and commitment of the Road Safety Trust, Transport Scotland, BEAR Scotland and Open Road Simulation.
       ”Winning the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award will raise the profile of this work and the significant social and economic impact of the PRIME project worldwide.”
       Scottish Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop described the impact of Project PRIME on casualties as “astonishing” and a “massive achievement”, and given the success of the trial, it was likely the same approach would be adopted in other parts of the country. Hyslop also said it was “an approach that could be used in similar road conditions around the world”.
       PRIME is a more cost-effective option than alternatives such as redesigning road layouts, implementing more sophisticated traffic calming measures or adding technology systems such as speed cameras. Announcing the trial results, Ian Stewart, of BEAR Scotland, Scotland’s leading road maintenance and management company, said: “This work has the potential to be a low-cost but valuable road safety improvement that will help reduce the number of motorcycle crashes on our roads in the coming years. It is expected that the trial will be expanded in the coming years and could be rolled out across Scotland’s wider trunk road network and local road network.”
       A summary report from Transport Scotland on the three-year trial said: “To the knowledge of the research consortium, this is the most in-depth study of motorcyclist behaviour to date. The results, obtained by hand counting, coding and analysing 32,213 motorcycles, provide substantial evidence that PRIME road markings have a strong, consistent and long-term effect on speed, position and braking. There is no evidence that PRIME has a detrimental effect on motorcyclist behaviour. In addition, although collision data is sparse and not always available for each site, there have been no motorcyclist injury collisions in any of the previously identified cluster sites since the trial began.”
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       New road markings being trialled in the west of Scotland have proven effective in improving left-hand driving behaviour among motorcyclists.
       These markers, called Perceived Driver Information to Maximize Experience and Enjoyment (PRIME), are designed to help drivers make more informed decisions.