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Reproduction is only permitted with due acknowledgement
What age categories are currently in force for A1 in the various European countries?
For most European countries the A1 category is not new. In 2004, the SWOV conducted a questionnaire study for which fourteen European counties supplied information (Schoon, 2004). Denmark and the Netherlands were the only countries that did not have an A1 category. Eight of the twelve other countries, including Germany, France and Sweden, had a minimum age of 16 for the A1 category. Austria, Belgium and Switzerland had a minimum age of 18, and only the UK had a
minimum age set at 17.
What are the fatality rates for the various modes of transport and age groups?
In the Netherlands, the fatality rate for riders of motorized, two-wheeled vehicles is clearly higher than the fatality rate for cyclists. That applies to moped and light-moped riders as well as to motorcyclists (see also the SWOV fact sheets Motorcyclists and Moped and light-moped riders. The fatality rates are different for different age groups (see Table 2). The rate for the youngest groups is clearly higher than for the higher age groups. From the age of 50, the fatality rate starts to rise again; from the age of 60 it even rises by a factor of 4 or 5 among cyclists and moped and light-moped riders (see the SWOV fact sheet The elderly in traffic).
Mode of transport (riders and passengers)
0-17 years 15-17 years 18-29 years 30-39 years 40-49 years 50-59 years 60+ years Cyclists 8 -- 7 5 6 9 42
Moped and light-moped riders -- 80 62 41 35 48 292
Motorcycle and scooter riders -- -- 121 72 50 55 64
Table 2. The average annual fatality rate (number of recorded deaths per billion kilometres travelled)
for riders and passengers of bicycles and motorized, two-wheeled vehicles per age category over the period 2000 to 2009 (source: Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment and Statistics Netherlands ).
What is the relation between age and experience?
In general, one can identify two clusters of causes for the decline in the crash rate among motorized road users as they get older. Firstly, the higher the age at which one first becomes a motorized road user, the lower the initial crash rate. As people get older, they lose their ‘wild streak’: they take fewer risks and are less inclined to overestimate their own driving skills. Secondly, the crash rate declines in proportion to the amount of driving experience acquired. With more driving experience, a person gains more skills such as improved hazard perception and the ability to assess relevant traffic situations. Research conducted among young car drivers shows that about 60 % of their higher crash rate is determined by lack of experience and about 40% by age-related factors (Maycock et al., 1991; Gregersen & Bjurulf, 1996; Vlakveld, 2005). See the SWOV fact sheet Young novice drivers. Research into the relation between age, experience and crashes has also been conducted for motorcyclists. In 2002, an extensive survey was conducted in the UK, in which 30.000 questionnaires were distributed to motorcyclists (Sexton et al., 2004). Of these, 11,265 questionnaires were
completed. Altogether, the motorcyclists had had 1,495 crashes; more than half of these took place while commuting or on work-related journeys. A statistical model was used to calculate the crash rate. This showed that the age of the motorcyclist was the most important indicator of a high crash rate: young riders are more likely to be involved in a crash. Experience also had an effect – the more experience, the lower the crash rate. In short, where the high crash rate amongst young drivers is caused mainly by their lack of experience (as mentioned above), for young motorcycle riders their age is mainly responsible for the high crash rate. Baughan et al. (2005) explain these results through the hypothesis that although the skills improve with experience in riding the motorcycle, this is cancelled out by the higher risks that motorcycle riders take.
After correction for distance travelled, age and experience, riders of 125 cc motorcycles were found to have a 15% higher risk of being involved in a crash than those on more powerful/heavier motorcycles. However, the injury severity was less in crashes involving 125 cc motorcycles, than in crashes
involving more powerful/heavier motorcycles (Sexton et al., 2004). The same study illustrated the relationship between starting age and experience for riders of motorcycles up to 125 cc (see Figure 1). The upper curve shows only the crash rate (called accident liability in the Figure) related to age. This is highest at 17 (the minimum age in the UK). The higher the age at which one first starts to ride a
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SWOV Fact sheet 5 © SWOV, Leidschendam, the Netherlands June 2011
Reproduction is only permitted with due acknowledgement
Moreover, various studies show that young motorcyclists are at particularly high risk in comparison with older motorcyclists. This is due not only to lack of experience but also to age-related aspects, such as a higher acceptance of risk and overestimation of one’s own skills. Age-related factors explain about 30 to 40% of the high crash rate for young riders or drivers and will play a greater role in the 16-17 age group than in the 18-19 age group. On the other hand, the experience gained by motorcyclists at the age of 16 and 17 will presumably lead to a lower crash rate as they get older. Thus a positive development can be expected for motorcyclist in the age group of 18 and older. On balance, however, we anticipate an increase in the number of road casualties if the minimum age for riding a 125 cc motorcycle is reduced from 18 to 16. Experiences in Germany, where an age reduction was introduced in 1996, confirm this expectation. In that country, 16 and 17 year-olds on 125 cc
motorcycles are indeed clearly over-represented in crash involvement. There is no reason to suppose that the situation would be different in the Netherlands. It is difficult to determine the extent, in absolute terms, to which road safety will decline, because it is not known how many young people in the
Netherlands will actually make use of the possibility to ride a 125 cc motorcycle.
In many European countries, a person with a category B driving licence is allowed to ride a 125 cc motorcycle. In these cases, no separate category A licence is necessary, though a short training course may be required. The effect of this on road safety has been studied in Germany, where it was shown that this possibility went hand in hand with a big increase in motorcycle ownership among people of 35 and older, plus a clear increase in the number of crashes involving injury in this group of motorcyclists. There are no clear reasons to suppose that this would be any different in the
Netherlands.
Publications and sources
Assing, K. (2002). Schwerpunkte der Unfälle von Motorradfahrern. (Focuses on motorcycle accidents).
In: Safety environment future IV; Proceedings of the 4th International Motorcycle Conference, München, 16-17 September 2002. IfZ Forschungshefte Zweiradsicherheit No. 10, p. 41-53.
Baughan, C., Sexton, B. & Elliot, M. (2005). Motorcyclists’ accident risk: results from a new survey. Paper presented at the seminar Behavioural Research in Road Safety 2004. TRL Staff Papers
PA/SE/4107/04, Transport Research Laboratory TRL, Crowthorne.
EU (2006). Richtlijn 2006/126/EG van het Europees Parlement en de Raad van 20 december 2006 betreffende het rijbewijs. Official Journal of the European Union, L 403/18, 30 december 2006. Maycock, G., Lockwood, C.R. & Lester, J.F. (1991). The accident liability of car drivers. Research Report 315. Transport and Road Research Laboratory TRRL, Crowthone.
Norden, Y., van & Schoon, C.C. (2009). Verkeersveiligheidsgevolgen van verlaging van de minimumleeftijd van de categorie A1-motor naar 16 of 17 jaar; Notitie d.d. 19 mei 2009 aan het Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat. R-2009-16. SWOV, Leidschendam.
Schoon, C.C. (2004). Traffic legislation and safety in Europe concerning the moped and the A1 category (125 cc) motorcycle. R-2004-10. SWOV, Leidschendam.
Schulz, U. (2000). Zur Unfallverwicklung 16- und 17-jähriger Leichtkraftradfahrer und die
motivationalen und einstellungsmässigen Hintergründe. In: Safety environment future III; Proceedings
of the International Motorcycle Conference, München, 11-12 September 2000. IfZ Forschungshefte Zweiradsicherheit No. 9, p. 35-52.
Sexton, B., Baughan, C., Elliott, M. & Maycock, G. (2004). The accident risk of motorcyclists. Prepared for the Department for Transport, Road Safety Division. TRL Report No. 607. Transport Research Laboratory TRL, Crowthorne.
Vlakveld, W.P. (2005). Jonge beginnende automobilisten, hun ongevalsrisico en maatregelen om dit terug te dringen; Een literatuurstudie. R-2005-3. SWOV, Leidschendam.
