Derbyshire has introduced PRIME markings on English roads for the first time, using visual cues on the pavement to help motorcyclists approach bends with more appropriate speed and positioning. The first installations are on the B6015 Woodhead Road at Devil’s Elbow near Glossop, and on the A6 between Buxton and Bakewell.

PRIME expands to Perceptual Rider Information for Maximising Expertise and Enjoyment. Its painted pattern creates a succession of visual gateways, giving riders a reference as a corner approaches. The intended benefit is to make speed and position corrections before turn-in, rather than relying on abrupt braking or steering changes once the motorcycle is already in the bend. The system is therefore aimed at reducing the risk of entering too fast and running wide on the way out.

A wider rollout with measured results

The Derbyshire locations were selected using motorcycle collision data from 2015 to 2024. The programme is due to extend to the A57 Snake Pass, A54 Macclesfield Main Road, A53 Axe Edge, A623 Peak Forest and B5035 Middleton-by-Wirksworth.

PRIME had already been trialled in Scotland from 2021, starting at 22 sites in the west of the country and later reaching 35 locations. The trial sites recorded a 61% reduction in average annual motorcycle injury collisions, along with a 46% reduction in collisions involving death or serious injury. Related markings have also been installed on sections of Wales’s A5, A487 and A483, while Norway has adopted a similar approach.

Derbyshire Constabulary will use existing roadside camera equipment at selected locations to compare rider behaviour before and after installation. The monitoring will examine factors including motorcycle speed and road position. Its results will indicate whether the improvement recorded in Scotland can be reproduced on English roads. PRIME is designed to reinforce rider training and sensible speed selection, not to take their place.