Norway's transport minister: ‘Road markings can improve motorcycle safety’

Norwegian road authorities are testing a new road-safety measure for motorcyclists on Highway 22 near Øyeren: large white ellipses painted through several bends. The markings are intended to influence both road positioning and speed. By making the lane visually feel narrower, authorities hope riders will maintain a safer line through the curve and instinctively reduce their speed.

Arild Lind, general manager of Norwegian motorcyclists’ association NMCU, said: “In Tyrol, the number of accidents has decreased by up to 80% in curves where the ellipses have been established. Other countries that are now rolling out this project can also report a large decrease in accidents. NMCU has possibly been the clearest public voice for promoting pilots with ellipses in Norway. NMCU is pleased that the first pilot is already underway – two years after we first raised it – and looks forward to reading the results of the project.”

The measure forms part of a broader Norwegian road-safety programme containing 22 measures specifically aimed at motorcyclists. Motorcycle fatalities and serious injuries have not declined at the same rate as those involving other road users, meaning motorcyclists account for an increasing share of serious crashes.

An important feature of the markings is their friction. Unlike conventional road markings, which can be relatively slippery for motorcycles, the material used for the ellipses is designed to provide sufficient grip even if a motorcycle rides over them. This is intended to avoid creating an additional hazard while still producing the desired visual and behavioural effect.

The concept was inspired by an approach used in Austria, where authorities reportedly observed a substantial reduction in crashes at selected curves. Norwegian officials caution, however, that the Austrian results need to be interpreted carefully because the number of crashes at individual bends was small, making large percentage changes possible from relatively few incidents.

Norway’s transport minister sees the markings as one potentially useful element of a wider motorcycle-safety strategy. Other measures under consideration include greater emphasis on protective clothing and additional interventions targeting younger or higher-risk riders. A higher minimum age for riding motorcycles is not currently proposed.

The interesting aspect of this experiment is that it does not primarily try to control the rider through regulation. Instead, it uses road design and visual psychology to encourage safer speed and positioning while preserving the motorcycle’s ability to negotiate the bend.

For organisations such as FEMA, the experiment could therefore be presented as an example of a Safe System/infrastructure-based approach to motorcycle safety: modify the road environment to accommodate and influence rider behaviour rather than relying exclusively on enforcement, equipment requirements or restrictions on riders.

Top photograph courtesy of KFV/Martin Winkelbauer