Motorcycle Hazard Perception Test

Motorcycle hazard perception training, built for real riding

Help riders improve hazard awareness, anticipation and decision-making using real-world motorcycle footage filmed from the rider’s perspective.

Online and VR options • Motorcycle-specific scenarios • Research-led design

For trainers and riders

Built for motorcycle-specific hazard awareness

  • Real rider-perspective footage filmed on UK roads
  • Online and immersive VR training options
  • Motorcycle-specific hazards including filtering, junctions and close passes
  • Designed to improve anticipation, scanning and decision-making

See the test in action

Watch a short overview of how the motorcycle hazard perception test works and how riders respond to real hazards from a rider’s perspective.

Available as both an online test and a Virtual Reality motorcycle hazard perception experience.

Motorcycle hazard perception, built for real riding

Motorcyclists face a unique set of risks on the road. This test uses motorcycle-specific footage and scenarios to reflect the types of hazards riders actually encounter, including vehicles emerging, junction risks, close passes, poor road surfaces, filtering situations and limited visibility.

Identify collision risk early

Help identify riders who may need additional support before risky patterns lead to incidents, near misses or confidence issues.

Accelerate hazard awareness

Expose riders to realistic, motorcycle-specific hazards in a safe and repeatable learning environment.

Build skills that prevent crashes

Support riders in developing the anticipation, scanning and prediction skills needed to respond earlier to developing hazards.

Improve coaching and progress

Give trainers clearer evidence of rider performance, helping them tailor feedback and focus on specific areas for improvement.

Why this matters

Motorcyclists remain one of the most vulnerable road user groups. Improving hazard perception and anticipation can play an important role in helping riders recognise risk earlier and make safer decisions.

<1% of UK traffic is made up of motorcycles
~20% of road deaths involve motorcyclists
180+ riders included in Esitu validation research

Train riders to anticipate danger before it strikes

Riding a motorcycle is more than just transport — it’s a passion, a shortcut through traffic, or even your livelihood. But it’s also a fact: motorcyclists are still the most vulnerable road users in the UK. You can’t control what others do on the road — but you can train riders to anticipate danger before it strikes.

That’s where the Esitu Motorcycle Hazard Perception Test comes in.

Developed by road safety experts, psychologists and real riders — with the original motorcycle hazard perception test created in collaboration with the National Young Rider Forum and supported by the Road Safety Trust — it gives trainers and learners a powerful, realistic way to sharpen hazard spotting skills.

Now available as both a standard online test and a fully immersive Virtual Reality experience, it allows riders to practise anticipating hazards in a safe, controlled environment — building awareness, confidence and decision-making skills.

Whether you’re helping riders pass their test or keeping experienced bikers safer on the road, this is the tool that makes the difference.

How the motorcycle hazard perception test works

The test is delivered online through EsituDrive and can be used by riders independently or as part of structured training with an instructor or training provider.

Watch real riding clips

Riders view real-world motorcycle footage filmed on UK roads from a rider’s perspective.

Predict what happens next

Riders respond to developing hazards and scenario-based questions designed to assess anticipation and awareness.

Review performance

Results can be reviewed through the EsituDrive dashboard, including clip-by-clip performance.

Target training

Trainers can use the results to support focused feedback and more targeted rider development.

Motorcycle hazard perception test filmed from a rider perspective

Filmed from real motorcycles

All clips are filmed in high-definition from real motorcycles on UK roads, capturing the rider’s perspective from a realistic, on-bike position.

The scenarios are based on crash data, rider surveys and real-world footage, and include hazards not typically found in car-based tests, such as filtering, close passes, sudden U-turns, poor surfaces and limited visibility.

This makes the training more realistic and directly relevant to the risks motorcyclists actually face.

Virtual Reality motorcycle hazard perception test

Now available in Virtual Reality

Alongside the standard online version, Esitu now offers a Virtual Reality motorcycle hazard perception test, developed using 360-degree motorcycle footage.

The VR version places riders inside the scene, supporting wider scanning, situational awareness and hazard anticipation in a more immersive training environment.

This builds on our motorcycle hazard perception work and recent Innovate UK-funded development.

Hazard prediction in the motorcycle hazard perception test

Multi-response hazard test

This test doesn’t just measure how quickly a rider spots a hazard — it also develops wider road awareness.

As well as the traditional hazard response task, riders are asked multiple-choice questions about what happens next and how they would respond in real riding situations.

By combining hazard detection, prediction and decision-making, the test gives a more complete picture of a rider’s safety skills.

Motorcycle hazard perception test with rear-view mirror integration

Rear-view mirror integration

Rear-facing footage is edited into virtual mirrors within each clip, allowing riders to practise full situational awareness — including potential hazards from behind.

This feature is available in the standard online version of the test and supports realistic training for filtering, overtaking and lane positioning.

Professor David Crundall giving a talk on the importance of motorcycle hazard perception

Research-led, expert-validated design

Developed by traffic psychologists, safety researchers and academic experts, with the original motorcycle hazard perception test created in collaboration with the National Young Rider Forum and supported by the Road Safety Trust.

The test has been validated using data from over 180 riders, with evidence linking test performance to real-world crash risk.

EsituDrive trainer dashboard showing motorcycle hazard perception test results

Trainer dashboard and easy online access

The test is delivered through EsituDrive, our online learning management system, making it simple to access anytime, anywhere — no downloads or specialist equipment required.

Trainers can view detailed rider results, including clip-by-clip scoring and exactly when and where trainees clicked in response to each developing hazard.

This supports targeted coaching, early identification of at-risk riders and more focused on-road training.

Useful for trainers, riders and organisations

The motorcycle hazard perception test can support early awareness, rider development, structured coaching and evidence-based training.

For trainers

  • Use before, during or after rider training
  • Identify riders who may need additional support
  • Review performance clip by clip
  • Support more targeted coaching conversations
  • Use online or VR delivery depending on your training setup

For riders

  • Practise realistic motorcycle hazards
  • Improve anticipation and road awareness
  • Build confidence before or alongside on-road training
  • Learn from real UK riding scenarios
  • Experience hazards online or through immersive VR

Ready to see the motorcycle hazard perception test?

Request a demo or more information to see how the online and VR motorcycle hazard perception test could support your riders, trainees or organisation.

Get the right solution for your riders

Share a few details and we’ll help you understand how our online and VR assessments could fit your training or organisation.

Why This Test Makes a Difference

Motorcyclists face unique risks

 Motorcycles make up less than 1% of UK traffic — but around 20% of road deaths. On average, 6 riders die and 100+ are seriously injured every week. The most common crashes? Drivers pulling out unexpectedly, misjudging your speed, or simply failing to see the motorcycle.

 

Hazard perception is a skill you can train Decades of research have shown that hazard perception is the only skill consistently linked to collision risk. The good news? It can be trained. In our test, riders learn to read the road by spotting subtle cues — movement, shadows, hidden pedestrians, or the flick of a car’s indicator. This ‘sixth sense’ isn’t magic — it’s learned. Our test helps you build it faster — and more safely.

 

Most hazard tests are built for car drivers The official DVSA hazard perception test — which riders must pass if they move on to a full licence — is based entirely on car driver footage. It misses key dangers like filtering, poor road surfaces, and vehicles pulling out without warning.

Ready to improve motorcycle hazard awareness?

See how our evidence-based motorcycle hazard perception assessment helps riders identify risks earlier, make safer decisions, and reduce collision risk.

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Motorcycle hazard perception