Motorcycle Police and the Beginnings of Honda Traffic Safety Education

2015-05-29 10:08
In a time without precedent


The late 1960s in Japan, a time when the number of registered vehicles was approaching 20 million, saw a sharp rise in the number of traffic collisions, a trend whose later culmination would be described as a "traffic war" due to the number of associated fatalities.

Honda's traffic safety initiatives had begun not long before that time, in the mid-1960s, with the training of motorcycle police officers at the Honda Driving Safety School (today's Suzuka Circuit Traffic Education Center) in Suzuka, Japan. In an age when the very concept of traffic safety education was nonexistent, the only option for Honda was to develop, through pure experimentation, its own knowledge about how to train motorcycle users. It is no exaggeration to say that this marked the beginning of traffic safety education—not just for Honda but for all of Japan.

A core focus of the training curriculum at the Driving Safety School in Suzuka since that time has been the "heart", or mind, of each motorcycle rider. Instead of concentrating on technical aptitude alone, the school has also emphasized the skill of controlling one's emotions against the tendency to become overly anxious or confident.

So how did Honda develop its safety programs at the dawn of safety education in Japan? And how has that legacy been passed on to today? To find out, we talked with current instructors of the Suzuka Traffic Education Center and others involved in the formative years of Honda's traffic safety education program.

● The founding philosophy of Honda traffic safety education


A page in a 1970s textbook from Honda Driving Safety School contains the following phrase: "Return to tranquil home living." Such words, though at first seemingly unrelated to riding safety, are representative of Honda's philosophy that "safety starts from the heart"―that safety is a matter of one's emotional state.
"Riding a motorcycle safely requires the skill of not only how to operate the vehicle but also how to manage one's own emotions and state of mind," says Masayuki Yoshimura, who joined Honda's Driving Safety Promotion Center in 1974 and worked there for more than 20 years before also serving as the center's general manager. "No matter how good you get, if you ride in a state of frustration after, say, arguing with the family, you face an increased risk of getting in an crash. That's why it's important to pay attention to the home. And that's what we tried to teach at the school."

At the root of Honda's police motorcycle training program launched in the mid-1960s was the philosophy, propounded by Masashi Ogawara, the school's first director and also former Honda motorcycle racing team captain, of valuing human life. Classes that taught this philosophy by Ogawara were handcrafted―both in terms of content and tools―and conveyed in a style all his own.

"For example, you can't move someone bigger than you simply by pushing them, but you can if you get a running start. That's kinetic energy, right? I had my students actually try it. That way they would understand with their body as well as their mind. The class was very concrete, three-dimensional, not just about theory. Honda has a tradition of repeatedly asking the question why, and that's exactly what we were teaching at the Driving Safety School. We taught students to think and discover for themselves not just how to do things but why we do them a certain way."

In 1971, the year after the Driving Safety Promotion Center was created, a newspaper advertisement placed by Honda read, "Machines, no matter how advanced, are only as good as the people who operate them." On a deep level, such a belief shared a common understanding as the philosophy evident throughout all parts of Honda's police motorcycle training that "safety starts from the heart."

"The Driving Safety Promotion Center's mindset was that Honda had an obligation not just to improve technologies to make vehicles safer, but to provide customers with the skills to ride them safely and enjoyably. In that sense, traffic safety education is about educating the person's emotional center. That's why even now I know of no other type of education that's as difficult as traffic safety education."

● One in-house video the only starting point

The original catalyst behind Honda's police motorcycle training program was a request from the Chubu regional police bureau asking Honda for help in reducing the rate of on-duty fatalities among motorcycle police officers. With the opening of new expressways, rapidly crowding streets, and a dramatically changing traffic environment, motorcycle patrol units were expanded to address the increase in traffic collisions―in turn resulting in a commensurate rise in officer crashes. In response, Ogawara's idea was to prevent future crashes by training officers on motorcycle operation. Supporting this idea was Soichiro Honda's edict to "just try and see."

"It was just four of us in the beginning―me, Ogawara, and two others," says Jun Watanabe, one of the first instructors in the police motorcycle training program at the Driving Safety School. Although a skillful motorcyclist, Watanabe was just a beginner when it came to teaching. With no other facilities or organizations teaching traffic safety, and without other examples or literature to borrow from, the only reference available was a 16-mm film produced in-house titled "Technical Workshop."

"The film explained in a simple manner the basics of going, turning, and stopping," explains Watanabe. "It was created based on Soichiro's belief that as long as Honda sold motorcycles to customers, it needed to ensure that they could ride them safely. It's surprising that that type of thinking existed at Honda even before we started offering traffic safety education."

● A training program built on trial and error

The students were older than me, which made teaching hard
"The students were older than me, which made teaching hard," says Kazuyuki Ono, who became an instructor at the Suzuka Circuit Traffic Education Center around the age of 20

The instructors, however, were dealing with an entirely different kind of student. These were motorcycle police officers, the crème de la crème of professional motorcycle riders. Teaching just going, turning, and stopping would be of little use. They would have to think hard about what kind of training would take the officers' riding skills to the next level.

Training was held not only on a paved course but on also an off-road track located on site, on a racetrack, and in a sand pit. The aim was to give officers a safe experience of riding in extreme conditions. By driving over slippery sand, for example, the officers could experience how the motorcycle behaves when it slides, and acquire muscle memory to avoid falling. This also connects with one of the core teaching philosophies of today's Driving Safety Promotion Center, which is to provide an environment in which students can experience hazards safely.

Officers were also drilled in braking from high speeds on a racetrack and passing through a slalom course at high speed, among others. The first highway in Japan had opened in 1963, and many of the roads were still unpaved; very few people had ever driven at high speeds. High-speed training on the racetrack was no doubt a valuable experience for the officers.

As the officers trained and improved their skills, the instructors thought of ways to raise the bar―a narrow plank with turns, a slippery surface paved with plastic pipes laid side by side, and a telephone pole laid sideways for riding on top.

"The hard part was that, being the instructors, we had to show mastery of these techniques," says Kazuyuki Ono, a former instructor at the Suzuka Circuit Traffic Education Center. "If not, the students wouldn't follow our lead. I'll come clean now since it's after the fact, but every day after work I secretly practiced on my own," laughs Ono.

"Things like the plank (the practice of riding at low speed over a narrow board) and sudden braking are technical problems commonly used at motorcycle schools all over the country today, but back then they didn't exist at driving schools. They were even new to me before coming to the Driving Safety School in Suzuka, even though I had worked as an instructor at a Honda-associated driving school," says Setsuo Hoshi, former instructor at the Driving Safety Promotion Center. The training curriculum used at the Driving Safety School later became a valuable reference for creating practical learning programs when the motorcycle license system was changed in Japan.

Suzuka program becomes the pride of motorcycle officers

The training program for motorcycle police officers was held as an overnight, multi-day camp. Since officers sometimes faced extreme conditions in their work, every day at the camp was designed to be grueling all-day workout in acquiring the physical and emotional stamina to withstand any situation.

"We had a name for motorcycle officers who completed the program: Suzuka-gaeri (literally 'back from Suzuka'). It probably arose from the pride reserved only to those who had endured the extremely rigorous training," reflects Kozo Okada, who had visited Suzuka as an advanced student to enter in a police motorcycle skills competition.

"I've heard a lot of social skills were developed through living together, not just motorcycle skills―like being considerate of others and working together. Some of the more independent-minded officers sometimes came back changed," says Kazuo Sakuno, also a former motorcycle officer.

Both Sakuno and Okada still share with their junior officers an important lesson they learned at Suzuka: "Stay alert to all possible dangers so you don't get in a situation you can't handle."

Sakuno provides his own interpretation: "It's important to refine your technique and stretch your physical limits, but it's more important not to create hazardous situations, to attend to risks before they can affect you."

The instructors also stressed the importance of sometimes giving up on a chase: an officer forcing himself with the intent of executing his duties could get in a crash. Behind Honda's firm instruction was a strong commitment to protecting the lives of both the officers and those being pursued.

Honda supported motorcycle police forces in other ways beyond training and competition. According to Sakuno, "Honda is the only manufacturer that worked with us to develop a motorcycle specifically designed for police use."

Adding red flashing lights and other equipment pushes the weight of the vehicle, however slightly, off balance. Police motorcycles also have their own typical speed range for patrolling the streets. For these reasons, police had always had the need for their own motorcycles.

"The first dedicated police motorcycle was the VFR750P, which we started using in 1989," says Sakuno.

"Honda helped us come up with the best design possible. Before it was completed, we did numerous road tests to see how the bike could perform better in various situations―on the streets or on the highway―and each time Honda's developers went back to the drawing board."

The VFR750P served an entire decade on the streets, undergoing upgrades year by year based on feedback from patrol units.

The development of police motorcycles, which, unlike mass-market models, have a limited production volume, brought no business profit to Honda.

"Being such a generous company, Honda seemed to strongly embody the values of Soichiro Honda, who supported motorcycle police units across the country through training and competition so they could carry out their work safely―and, by extension, so Japan's streets could be safer. I think we can say that without that support, motorcycle police forces wouldn't be as effective and important as they are today. Even now, to remember that feeling of appreciation and pass it on to younger officers at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, I have them visit Soichiro's grave at the Fuji Cemetery whenever there is training at the Fuji Speedway."

● Suzuka, site of police motorcycle competition, a "shrine"

"For me, the word 'Suzuka' always brings to mind the tense atmosphere of the police motorcycle competition held there back then," says Okada, who, as an officer representing the Metropolitan Police Department, placed first in the individual division of the fourth competition. Even now, he stands up a little straighter anytime he gets near the Suzuka Circuit.

The National Police Motorcycle Skills Competition (Police Motorcycle Competition) is the envy of motorcycle police officers, a competition in which only the best motorcyclists from patrol units all across Japan can participate. Starting with its inaugural event in 1969, the competition was held for 24 consecutive years at the Suzuka Circuit, providing an opportunity for officers to show off the fruits of their training. In those early days, Ogawara and other instructors at the Honda Driving Safety School were closely involved in developing the trials that would be used to objectively assess riders' skills. And the school's regular training program was an important source of ideas.

"Suzuka still excites. There's no place like it. It's a sacred place for motorcycle officers―a 'shrine' if you will. Honda was serious about traffic safety, about people's lives, and also passionate about teaching it, which is what I think created that unique atmosphere at Suzuka," reflects Sakuno, who also placed first in the individual category at the fifth competition.

Despite such lofty levels of competitive spirit being reached at Suzuka, the event came to a major turning point in the 1990s: its venue was changed to the Japan Safe Driving Center, a public training academy newly built in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki.

"The event had special meaning to us too, so we were sad to see it moved," recalls Yoshimura, who was general manager of the Driving Safety Promotion Center at the time. The 24th competition, the last held at the Suzuka Circuit, was an unforgettable moment for Honda. The trials were delayed from heavy rain, with the last being held after dark. Tearing up with emotion, the instructors fixed lights on the course and struggled to make the last competition at Suzuka end on a successful note.

● Continuing contribution to police motorcycle competition

Today, the National Police Motorcycle Skills Competition is held at the Japan Safe Driving Center in Hitachinaka. The event has not lost its allure to motorcycle officers in which only the most skilled riders from across the country can participate. Seiji Hori, Director of the Traffic Enforcement Division of the National Police Agency's Traffic Bureau, says, "The aim of the competition is not only to motivate officers to train so they may one day compete at the national level, but also to pass on the skills they acquire in training to future generations of officers and to raise the level of skills among all motorcycle police officers in the country."

For motorcycle officers, whose job is to ensure driver safety while maintaining smooth traffic flows in all sorts of road and traffic situations, keeping balance and using the motorcycle as a natural extension of the hands and feet are skills as equally important as being able to ride fast. They also need to know how to navigate a bike off-road, so they can gather information and provide assistance in a disaster or other emergency. To measure all of these skills, the competition currently has four test categories: balance, obstacle course, off-road, and slalom. A women's slalom category was added since the 31st competition to give female officers more opportunities for social advancement and for showing off their riding skills―often to the embarrassment of the male officers.

Even with the new location, staff from the Honda Driving Safety Promotion Center still contribute as judges, directing a stern eye to each rider's performance. Impartial judges help build trust with the athletes and also boost morale. Staff from Honda Motorcycle Japan also participate as mechanics, maintaining the motorcycles to ensure that all athletes compete on a level playing field.

New forms of traditional knowledge

Today, Honda has Traffic Education Centers at seven locations across Japan. Each center builds on Honda's 50 years of experience since starting the police motorcycle training in Suzuka by offering programs for corporate fleet instructors as well as hands-on workshops for ordinary drivers and riders.
Kosaku Ujike, instructor at the Active Safety Training Park at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi, explains,

"Training today might look vastly different in style from police motorcycle training, but in fact the basic approach of allowing trainees to experience risks safely hasn't changed."

The Active Safety Training Park at Twin Ring Motegi, which was built more than 30 years after Suzuka Circuit, has facilities that allow drivers and riders to experience dangers in a more realistic manner. The automobile training course, for example, has a device that forces the car to slip, and a course with a slippery surface paved with ceramic tiles.

Efforts to impart emotional discipline, a philosophy at the core of Honda safety education since the days of police motorcycle training, have also deepened. One example of this is a program called Emotional Control* based on a theory proposed by psychologist Esko Keskinen.

Through group discussion, program participants talk about the emotions that arise in traffic environments and how best to manage them.

"The program is designed to help participants realize through discussion that other people have the same feelings and that there are ways to manage those feelings," says Ujike.

*Program developed through a research project of the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS).

● Honda's person-focused educational style

At Honda Traffic Education Centers today, riding safety instructors employed by businesses that use motorcycles and automobiles in their operations study how to pass on the technical and emotional skills needed to operate their fleet vehicles safely. We talked with one such trainee from the Japan Post Co., Ltd., who was visiting the Active Safety Training Park Motegi for training.

"One thing I'm learning this time, besides how to teach better, is the importance of getting the attention of other drivers. By braking or turning on the blinker earlier, you can tell people around you what you want to do. It struck me how communication is just as important when driving as it is in other areas of society."
After all is said and done, the important thing when driving is to be aware of the human being in the other vehicles and to communicate with them. Awareness of this truth comes out not only in Honda's training curriculum but in the attitude of the instructors as well. When Honda instructors, Ujike among others, talk with students, they take time to face each person and call them by their individual names. The connection between teacher and student is almost palpable.

"The Traffic Education Centers have also gained a reputation for practicing a person-focused teaching style. I feel proud to have that as the legacy we need to pass down to future teachers," says Ujike.

● 'Safety from the heart' an enduring, universal principle

Honda's efforts to promote traffic safety began in an age when the very concept of safety education did not yet exist. Guided by its mission to protect human lives, Honda built its traffic safety programs from the ground up, with both police motorcycle trainees and instructors growing together.

From such humble beginnings in Suzuka, Honda's traffic safety initiatives have spread widely to seven Traffic Education Centers and Honda business sites and sales companies across Japan, and beyond to subsidiaries in 36 countries worldwide.

The philosophy that "safety starts from the heart" is the common root connecting all of these initiatives across generations and across borders. No matter how advanced technologies become, as long as people are in the driver's seat, the human mind will always be a crucial factor. At Honda, this belief is passed down from one person to another―an expression of the Honda Driving Safety Promotion Center's emphasis on the role of direct communication in the transmission of safety skills, and a manifestation of Honda's more-than-50-year commitment to the basic philosophy of respect for the individual.

Source: Honda Motor Company

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