An award-winning motorcycle safety project that was first trialled in Scotland is continuing to save lives.

The first phase of Project PRIME took place between 2020 and 2022, with special road markings installed at 22 sites across the west of Scotland to help riders make better decisions when taking bends.

The project won the prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for its positive impact on motorcycle safety in 2023.

Phase Two of Project PRIME ran from 2023-2025, extending the trial to a total of 35 locations to analyse over 47,000 motorcycle movements.

Results show the markings continue to encourage riders to adopt better road positioning at corners. It also showed evidence of sustained behaviour change in riders over two, three and five year periods.

In addition, latest analysis of the Project PRIME sites shows:

  • 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

Following the success of the trial, six local authorities in Scotland are now considering the rollout of PRIME road markings on their local road networks. Welsh authorities have installed PRIME road markings at four locations and National Highways have made representation to the Department for Transport for approval of a trial of PRIME road markings in England.

“There is no doubt the continued impact of Project PRIME is a real triumph for road safety in Scotland, showing what can be achieved when academic theory is supported by real world application,” said Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop.

“I’m very pleased to see the success of phase one of the project has not only continued in phase two, but it is also showing evidence of sustained behaviour change in riders. Motorcyclists are consistently over-represented in road casualty statistics, despite being a relatively low proportion of road users, so it is encouraging to see this trend develop over the course of the trial.”