Report confirms innovative motorbike signage project is saving lives

A report recently published on The Road Safety Trust’s website has confirmed that Transport Scotland’s award-winning motorcycle safety initiative is continuing to save lives on Scotland’s trunk road network.

Believed to be the largest motorcycle behaviour investigation of its kind, Project PRIME set out to improve rider safety through the use of special road markings and signs to help riders make better decisions when taking bends. Acting as gateways, the signs are designed to help riders reduce speed, reduce braking and improve road position when taking bends.

The Trust provided funding to Transport Scotland for the first phase of Project PRIME which took place between 2020 and 2022, with road markings installed at 22 sites on the trunk road network in Scotland. The project won the prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for its positive impact on motorcycle safety the following year in 2023 and led to an installation toolkit being created for road authorities across the UK.

Further funding was provided by the Trust to support Phase Two, which ran from 2023-2025 with the trial extended to a total of 35 locations, analysing more than 47,000 motorcycle movements. Results showed the markings continue to encourage riders to adopt better road positioning at corners. Findings also showed evidence of sustained behaviour change in riders over two, three and five-year periods.

In addition to the positive behaviour change effects observed in both trials, the latest analysis of the Project PRIME sites has shown:

• 61% reduction in annual average motorcycle injury collisions across all trial sites
• 46% reduction in annual average motorcycle collisions where someone is killed or seriously injured across all trial sites

Six local authorities in Scotland are now considering the rollout of PRIME road markings on their local road networks. Welsh authorities have also installed PRIME road markings at four locations and National Highways has made representation to the Department for Transport for approval of a trial of PRIME road markings in England – with the project specifically referenced within the Government’s Road Safety Strategy.

Ruth Purdie OBE, Chief Executive at The Road Safety Trust, said: “This has been such an important project for The Road Safety Trust to support. PRIME markings are having real world impact and creating lasting behaviour change in riders, which is just fantastic to see.

“They are proving to be an invaluable tool to help navigate bends as even the most experienced riders can get caught out. We can’t accept the status quo of motorcyclists being prevalent in statistics relating to deaths and serious injuries on our roads in the UK.

“It’s wonderful to see PRIME markings being trialled elsewhere in the UK and I would encourage every local authority to consider their implementation in the future.”

The full report may be viewed on the dedicated project page on The Road Safety Trust's website.