In 2022, the MIPR team provided ongoing support for the Florida Motorcycle Safety Program and the Florida Impaired Driving Program. The team hosted and facilitated four coalition meetings for each program in 2022 and provided technical and administrative support to implement selected safety countermeasures. The MIPR team successfully completed a statewide survey of motorcyclists to evaluate the Florida Motorcycle Safety Program and measure changes in riders’ behaviors and opinions about motorcycle safety. The team received 1,660 responses to the survey.
The MIPR Team provided further support to the Florida Motorcycle Safety Program in 2022 by developing educational materials and programs for Florida motorcyclists including:
- Coordination of outreach efforts and programs for “May is Motorcycle Awareness Month” including the implementations of Endorsement and Beyond, a tuition subsidy program to encourage advanced motorcycle training in the month of May
- Management of the Ride Smart Florida website (www.ridesmartflorida.com) and associated social media channels (Facebook, Instagram & Twitter )
- Development of self-paced online curriculum for motorcyclist safety through the Motorcycle Education Program for Every Rider (MEPER)
- Distribution of MEPER motorcycle educational materials to high school students through the Driver Education Licensing Assistance Program (DELAP)
The team also completed work under a Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP) grant to understand and document the characteristics of moped and scooter riders at a national level. The team issued an online survey of moped/scooter riders, receiving 1,659 responses.
Finally, in addition to its motorcycle/moped safety research efforts, the MIP Team received funding from the Center for Transportation, Environment, and Community Health (CTECH) to implement the Traffic Safety Education Resource Center (TSERC) for Teen Drivers. The project aims to develop a mobile-friendly website that can provide guided experiences and verified knowledge to teen drivers, parents/guardians, and driver education teachers in Florida. The team began crash data analysis for teen drivers (ages 15–18) in Florida to identify the most relevant unsafe driving behaviors. A centralized website and self-paced learning modules for traffic safety education are the intended final outputs of the research project, with a plan to expand TSERC to a national model that could be used by other states.
