The team at Honda Australia have launched an innovative program throughout authorised Honda dealerships
that is aimed to combat safety concerns for motorcyclists by providing an enhanced service when purchasing.
A Honda Safety Advisor is being employed within each participating Dealership, the dealership will
act as the initial contact for the customer in regards to safety advice as well as also offering a on the spot training through
the use of a state of the art on site simulator.
Specifically, Honda Safety Advisors
offers advice for customers regarding the appropriate bike choice, tips on local places to ride, safety gear and they can
also provide information on state licensing authorities.
Honda Safety Advisors
will also provide introductory skills and hazard perception training , this will be done with the use of the Honda Rider Trainer,
a computer driven, simple to use riding simulator that places riders in everyday real life road traffic situations.
The simulator allows the advisor to introduce basic control skills to prospective customers in a
safe way, and to give non riders a taste of what is involved in riding. The Riding Trainer is currently being utilised at
all Honda Australia Rider Training (HART) centres.
Importantly, the Advisor will
also have knowledge of training courses available to riders, from beginners to those who need a ‘refresher’ course,
right up to riders that are at the pointy end of the scale.
“Honda is focused
on introducing new safety initiatives that have real benefit for our customers and this one certainly hits the mark,”
said Honda’s General Manager, Motorcycles, Tony Hinton.
“The simulator,
in addition to the appointment of a Safety Advisor in many of our Dealerships and the undertaking of formal training, will
mean motorcyclists are as prepared as possible for the road.”
“Those
who are new to two wheels will start to think like a motorcyclist and be better prepared to interact with traffic on public
roads.”
“Novice riders will find the Trainer as well as the advice
provided by the HSA extremely helpful in gaining additional confidence, but experienced riders will also find the simulator
beneficial because it is programmed to put the rider in a wide variety of potential scenarios without putting themselves at
risk!"
The Windows compatible software provides a wide variety of options
from city riding to touring on small, medium or large capacity machines, as well as with an automatic transmission or manual.
The easy to use and simple design of the Riding Trainer includes motorcycle handlebars
and pedal operation components, a seat, along with a lightweight frame and video monitor.
“By
spending time on the simulator with the Safety Advisor on hand, customers get a better grasp of traffic skills and potentially
dangerous situations, and learn how to start predicting the actions of other road users before they become a threat to the
rider,” Mr Hinton said.
“The new services that Honda is offering aim
to add value for our customers to the rider training and licensing programs already in place within Australia. They are not
designed to replace formal rider training.”
Honda will be rolling out the
new Honda Safety Advisor program to Dealerships over the next two months, for more details please visit the Honda Australia
website.
