Note: The survey is now closed – Full report to follow – Further details below.
Riders of motorcycles, scooters and mopeds who have been involved in a collision over the last ten years, are being invited to take part in a survey which is looking at the dynamics of motorcycle crashes.
A cooperative initiative carried out by a team of motorcycle crash investigative analysts is interested in your views as motorcyclists.
The analysts are: Stephane Espie, Research Director IFSTTAR, France; Elaine Hardy Motorcycle Research Analyst, UK; Dimitris Margaritis, Research Associate, CERTH/HIT; Greece; James Ouellet, Hurt Report co-author, USA; Martin Winkelbauer, Senior Researcher, KFV, Austria.
All members of this team have been involved in motorcycle crash investigation studies over the years and are all motorcyclists.
The survey expands on a 2016 pilot study of 61 crash-involved riders from various countries including Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. All had been riding an ABS-equipped motorcycle when they crashed. The findings of the pilot study found that the correlation between speed and serious injuries was random and indicated that riders overwhelmingly recognised the risk of injury and thus wore protective clothing and helmets.
In order to have a better understanding of the dynamics of motorcycle crashes this new survey expands the pilot study to cover eight different languages: French, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Spanish, Italian, Greek and English. (To find the different languages there is a drop down menu at the start of the survey.)
The survey will be disseminated throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, South America and beyond.
This time the survey looks at motorcycles with and without ABS in order to provide a comprehensive comparison of these braking systems.
Riders are asked 39 questions divided into four sections:
1) About you and your motorcycle;
2) Background;
3) Crash Details;
4) Comments.
None of the questions is mandatory and responses are anonymous.
Riders’ Perspective
From a rider’s perspective, we are constantly being criticized for speeding, being risky or being responsible for our own crashes and injuries. But we know that it’s not that simple, in fact it’s complicated and it would be really helpful to understand what happens, how it happens and why it happens.
There are numerous factors that need to be considered in all crashes and it’s time that you the rider gave your perspective about the circumstances. The survey will remain live for six months and the aim is to produce a report for the beginning of 2020.
For further information regarding this survey please contact Dr Elaine Hardy E-mail
Original Source – Dynamics of Motorcycle Crashes – A Survey – www.investigativeresearch.org
Dear Bob Craven, thanks for your comments and opinion. It will be interesting to see what the responses are from the survey and whether they coincide with your views.
Regards
Elaine Hardy
One of the problems that is easily identified on the roads in the UK a is the close proximity that vehicle have towards the rear end of each other. Very few drivers now adopt a safe following on distance a such as those recommended , the 75ft in the Highway Code or the 98ft in the DVSA Handbook. They are and have been for several decades now being instructed in town traffic situations to be no less than the THINKING DISTANCE ONLY and that is only 30 ft at 30 mph..
This results in traffic travelling without safe space and that means safe stopping distance and Tailgating but more important than that is the fact that drivers are now driving to the rear lights of the vehicle in front and totally blind to whatever is happening further ahead in the street and their peripheral vision is also effected by the close proximity to the rear of the vehicle in front. That may be a bus, lorry, wide van, caravan or whatever.
This means that with a ,lot of drivers having less visibility they cant see potential dangers or actual dangers until its too late. For instance if the vehicle in front drives over a pothole or say a 4 inch piece of wood or metal the vehicle behind, being so close has no chance to see it or miss it themselves. With safe space they could easily avoid see it and have time and distance to avoid it.,. With safe space they could see more of the street scene and see TWV more easily.
Riders don’t help themselves and don’t give enough space themselves [ as they are not instructed too] They don’t ride defensively and they should all be instructed on sight, distance, positioning for better sight and also to positioning to be seen..
An example. some time ago i was driving my car on a main urban road approaching traffic lights. They were on green and it was my intention to turn right across oncoming traffic . I waited for a bus approaching to pass and there was no traffic behind that bus but I had an instinctive moment and hesitated and as the bus passed and before I engaged to set off I was confronted with a scooter rider who was totally blind to me and I to him as he was only about 10/15 ft behind the bus.
The other point I want to make about safe space is about parked vehicles. Many do park on yellow lines and law enforcement is poor but some years ago the L..A..s put down yellow lines at T junctions. Historically it’s been recommended that no vehicles park within 30/32ft of the Apex at junctions and so one would assume that L.A.s would adopt that distance for their yellow lines… They did not and some lines are only a few yards away from the Apex’s.. What does this mean.?… It means that some drivers wanting to park see the yellow lines and don’t park on them but park at the end of them and are well within that no parking policy of 30/32ft. This creates an increased danger to all road user as vehicle exiting that junction have none or little vision of vehicles approaching particularly from their right. and vehicle approaching nearside junction do not see a vehicle waiting to come out…. until it comes out.. Add to that the paragraphs above on closer distances and the whole street scene becomes a lottery of moving without colliding, The worst that its ever been.
So in summary. Vehicle being driven too close together and parked vehicles obstructing vision at junctions.
Poor and dangerous forward vision as a result
What to do. More defensive training of twv. Stop instructing on closer than the safe space. Paint yellow lines longer as vehicle are bigger and wider than they have been historically.
These measures will open up the street scene for every ones benefit. The more one sees the greater the safety for all roaf users.
Thanks John, very much appreciated!
Very good work which I will do my best to promote. I have spoken with Isabelle in the Communications Department at FIM and she will give this a push next week (not today as it is a public holiday across much of Europe). I have a positive reply from Canada as well from the FIM member organisation there and they will also promote this excellent work.