What We Do / Research and Evidence Base

Research and Evidence Base

Research Investigating Identification and Perception Risk of Motorcyclist and Car Drivers

Shel Silva, our DocBike researcher, has undertaken research investigating identification and perception of risk for both motorcyclists and car drivers. To investigate identification of risk, participants used an Eye-Tracker at Bournemouth University. In order to investigate perception towards risk, participants completed two short questionnaires. In addition, motorcyclist participants completed a 1:1 interview to talk about motorcycling.

You may question why car drivers have been involved with this research; especially because DocBike is a motorcycle charity. Put simply, we need to learn more about how both motorcyclists and car drivers interact with the road. Indeed, although DocBike is set up for motorcyclists by motorcyclists, we also realise that there are many different vehicles using the road and if we understand the drivers of those other vehicles better then it might help inform how we can save bikers lives.

Want to find out more about Shel’s research?

Shel was interviewed by BBC South Today regarding her PhD research work, which has found that there are differences in motorcyclists’ and car drivers’ visual attention, because they may be viewing completely different things, despite being on the same stretch of road. This fantastic research project has been jointly funded by DocBike and Bournemouth University. You can watch the interview below, which was filmed in January 2022.

Our Research and Evidence Base

The DocBike charity isn’t about riding around on a flashy bike and achieving little. Research and evidence base form the cornerstones of the charity. We use research to:

• Identify those motorcyclists who are most likely to be involved in a serious collision in the future
• Identify what things are most likely to get a biker killed or seriously injured
• Work out what strategies actually work to avoid being in a bike crash
• Look at whether the way that we engage with motorcyclists actually reduces their risk of being in a crash in the future.

PhD Studentship in Motorcycle Injury Prevention

In 2019, after a generous donation from the solicitors Lester Aldridge, the DocBike match funded a 3-year PhD Studentship with Bournemouth University looking not only at motorcycle injury prevention, but also the effectiveness of the engagement strategy currently employed by the DocBike.

Shel Silva has a background in Psychology, already having attained a master’s degree. Prior to undertaking her PhD she also worked with difficult to engage with individuals, trying to encourage them to take up further education. Shel has been riding motorcycles since the age of 4 and there’s little about bikes that she doesn’t know. Her passion for motorcycles, motorcyclists and preventing them from coming to harm through her research has to be seen to be believed…. It’s phenomenal. We’re really lucky to have Shel and the PhD studentship in partnership with Bournemouth University. This is just the start of the research journey for the charity; but it’s a start we’re really proud of and one that we hope will bring some great results early on.

A 10-Year Research Strategy

As a charity, we recognise the potential for a coordinated, well-structured and well-delivered research strategy into motorcycle injury prevention and engagement effectiveness.

In March 2020, a collaborative of professors, academics, lecturers and experts from data & research organisations such as the Trauma Audit and Research Network met to devise a strategy for the DocBike charity for the next 10 years. This is work that to date has never been done. Whilst in it’s very early stages, this has to be the way forward, sharing data from Police, Government Agencies and NHS, whilst using our contacts in the research and academic world to help us use this data to its greatest advantage and save even more lives.

We Don’t Keep our Findings to Ourselves!

We are passionate about sharing what we discover through our engagement and research with others around the country and around the world. We work with a large number of government and non-government partners to help make a real difference.

The DocBike charity also presents its findings at major events around the UK on a regular basis, including to date:

• The National Major Trauma Networks conference
• The Association of Air Ambulances conference
• The National Fire Bikes conference
• The National Fire Chief’s Council’s Road Safety Seminar
• The National Institute for Health Research Seminar on Research Partnerships
• The Road Safety GB conference
• The Trauma Care conference

As a charity, we have the freedom to investigate very exciting strands that might be difficult to achieve as part of an organisation with other pressing priorities. The DocBike is the only charity dedicated solely to reducing the number of deaths and critical injuries in motorcyclists. We strive to be excellent in everything that we do, with the aim of eradicating motorcycle deaths and serious injuries from the roads in the UK.