Ukraine – What can we say about the war and invasion that is happening right now in Ukraine? Should we give our thoughts and feeling as motorcyclists and as Motorcycle Minds – what has it got to do with us? Well yes, we should give our thoughts, even though we haven't commented on other wars and disasters, man made or not, this time it appears to be different and it is not because of social media 24 hour news repeats showing the death and destruction. As motorcycling commentators, we didn’t believe it to be our remit to write about the conflicts in the Middle East nor … [Read more...]
The Dynamics Of Motorcycle Crashes
The analysis of a global survey of 1578 motorcyclists who responded from 30 countries in Europe, the USA, Asia, Australia and South America and in eight languages in 2019 has been published in a comprehensive report. Riders of motorcycles, scooters and mopeds who had been involved in a collision over the last ten years were invited to take part in the survey which looked at the dynamics of motorcycle crashes. The riders who replied to the survey came from a varied age range, motorcycling experience, as well as depth of skills and training. The new research … [Read more...]
Dynamics of Motorcycle Crashes – A Survey
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 … [Read more...]
Moto Gymkhana
Moto Gymkhana - What is Moto Gymkhana? you may ask. You may have watched videos of bikes on You Tube been ridden round and around cones, you may have marvelled at skills of tight turns and machine control. However, is Moto Gymkhana much more than riding around cones in an empty car park and have we just offended Moto Gymkhana worldwide aficionados in our description? The Moto Gymkhana Association in the UK says, “it is the most fun you can have on a motorbike” involving improving riders, “Confidence, Bike control, speed, braking, turning, accuracy and space to … [Read more...]
Motorcycle Mind-set
Europe - The Federation of European Motorcyclists (FEMA) say that a vote in the European Parliament regarding an important report on road safety is good news for motorcyclists, as riders are explicitly mentioned in the report. The report in question is entitled - On saving lives: boosting car safety in the EU – emanating from the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) a committee of MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) the MEP responsible for the report (rapporteur) and one of the Vice-Chairs of the committee is Dr. Dieter-L. Koch. FEMA states that the good … [Read more...]
Necessity is the Mother of Invention in Gaza
Gaza - Necessity is the Mother of Invention or Motorcycling in Gaza - I came across an article recently, it was reporting on motorcycling in Gaza. I went about asking permission to print it, because that’s what’s required in their Terms and Conditions page. I waited and waited and came to the conclusion that they might be very busy people. In the end, I gave up and decided to write my own. Of course the article in France 24, was definitely the one I liked the best. It tells a tale of survival in Gaza and the birth of motorcycling in the war torn strip of land … [Read more...]
The Art of Dialogue and Motorcycling
Norway - In June 2008, over 100 motorcycling specialists met in the mountain town of Lillehammer, Norway to thrash out solutions to improve the “safety” of motorcyclists. The workshop was organised by the International Transport Forum/OECD with the objective of “bringing together the different stakeholders involved in motorcycling safety in order to identify the real problems of motorcycling safety (vs. the perceived problems), discuss practical solutions to these problems and propose a set of measures to improve the safety of motorcyclists”. The extraordinary … [Read more...]
