United States – Washington, D.C. - Deployment of Safety Technology – The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) report that on 20th November 2019, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing entitled Highly Automated Vehicles: Federal Perspectives on the Deployment of Safety Technology. What the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing is about is “Highly Automated Vehicles” and the reaction from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) fighting for the safety of motorcyclists as this new technology is deployed on … [Read more...]
Automated – Include Motorcycles!
United States - Most rider organisations, federations, club groupings and the motorcycle industry have adopted a position or voiced concerns, or are working on how motorcycles and their riders are becoming increasingly affected by the introduction of vehicle assist systems which are leading towards the aim of fully automated vehicles. In February of this year we ran an article entitle Self Driving Cars – The Same Concerns which looked at the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) from the United States when they raised their concerns with their lawmakers regarding automated … [Read more...]
Future Connected Mobility
Future Connected Mobility - While we have been preparing an article that takes another look at automated driving and the reaction to motorcycles, fitting of systems to motorcycles, two articles of news reach us. Overall, aspects of automated driving and indeed riding detection is moving on at a pace, as automation moves steadily to achieve science fact and not just science fiction. The ultimate goal of all this is to be sitting in a vehicle, with the vehicle in full control, not the driver in a fantastical world that mimics how we drive and ride at present, for … [Read more...]
Ducati Including Radar
Technology - Hitting the journalistic newsstands this week was the announcement from Ducati with its constant drive towards innovation, that the Bologna-based manufacturer is defining its safety strategy until 2025. This will see the implementation in the short term of ARAS (Advanced Rider Assistance Systems) on their motorcycles, or as has been picked up, Ducati is fitting a radar to their bikes. We have previously reported on systems such as ARAS as fitted in cars, which was tied in with the ongoing strife of implementing full car automation. How all these systems on … [Read more...]
Automation Seeing Motorcycles?
Europe - The Federation of European Motorcyclists - FEMA - reports that research by RDW (the Netherlands Vehicle Authority) shows that cars with an innovative driving system, such as an adaptive cruise control (ACC), are capable of noticing motorcycles. But when motorcycles are riding at the edge of their lane, the adaptive cruise control does not respond well to them. In many tests, action had to be taken by the driver of the car to prevent a collision. That is why RDW warns users of such systems and motorcyclists to pay attention while driving, because the systems do … [Read more...]
Self Driving Cars – The Same Concerns
United States – Washington, DC - It’s the same the whole world over as concerns about “Self-driving” cars see the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) raise their own concerns again on automated vehicles at a briefing of the Senate Motorcycle Caucus. Basically the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus addresses common legislative objectives through a group of politicians that meets to pursue, “The specific and crucial needs of motorcycle riders and all those that share the road with them - legislators with a unique understanding and commitment to the issues that face riders … [Read more...]
Still Preparing For Technology
Europe - ACEM the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers which represents the manufacturers of mopeds, motorcycles, three-wheelers and quadricycles (L-category vehicles) in Europe, has published two position papers on vehicle technology. Detection of motorcycles by advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) eCall devices for L-category vehicles ACEM has also announced the 13th Edition of their annual conference - “Sustainable motorcycling in Europe” – to held in January 2018, addressing how policy-makers, civil society and the motorcycle sector can work … [Read more...]