Motorcycle training schools across London are being given the chance to earn accreditation by the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), under a new scheme funded by Transport for London (TfL).
The initiative will see one DVSA registered motorcycle and scooter training school in each London borough provided with funding to take an accreditation course with the MCIA.
The MCIA says that until now, people wanting to learn to ride a motorcycle or scooter have had no way to distinguish good training schools from poor ones. Equally, training schools have had no means of letting the public know they offer superior training.
All accredited schools, and those working towards accreditation, will be featured on a website, www.mciac.co.uk, to make it easy for the public to find good training schools.
In March, the London Assembly Transport Committee said that TfL was ‘under pressure’ over the rising number of motorcycle deaths in the Capital.
In response, TfL announced it is ‘strengthening the work it carries out to reduce the number of accidents involving motorcycle and scooter riders in the Capital’.
This latest initiative is an attempt by TfL to improve the standard of riding by giving Londoners access to high quality training providers.
MCIA says that riders often choose their training provider by cost, or guarantees of a quick pass, particularly for Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), which means many receive a poor introduction to riding.
The accreditation process covers areas including safety, standard of equipment and premises, as well as designing appropriate learning programmes for learner riders and encouraging instructors to use the latest training methods.
Accreditation is then maintained by annual checks and by surveying every customer who trains with an accredited school.
25 May 2016