Rider Safety
Stay safe and stay upright. Here you'll find info on
safe riding, crash stats and links to safety campaigns
and other safety sites.
And don't forget to request our free Rider Training CD
Rom.
Motorcycle Crash Data
Before you hit the road
Of the 288 people killed on Victoria's roads in 2010, 49 were riders of motorcycles, representing 17% of the road toll. Motorcycles represent less than 4% of the number of registered vehicles in Victoria, and account for around 1% of vehicle kilometers travelled.
Of the 49 motorcyclists killed in 2010:
• 94% were male,
• 53% occurred in rural Victoria,
• 57% were involved in crashes between the hours of 10am and 6pm, and
• 39% of deaths occurred on roads sign posted at 100km/h or more.
• 39% were involved in single vehicle crashes, 16% were involved in same direction crashes and 18% were involved in crashes with another vehicle at an intersection
There's plenty more thought-provoking stats at the TAC Safety web site, but here's one more for the road. In 2009/10 alone, nearly a thousand riders were seriously injured. Maybe it's time to get some protective clothing?
In 2009/2010 there were 975 claims for motorcyclists involving hospital admissions.
For more motorcycle stats relating to crashes including crash types, gender and age visit the TAC Safety motorcycle crash data pages
Ride Smart CD Rom
It doesn't hurt to tune up your riding skills
To make it easy we've created a free Ride Smart CD Rom full of exercises to keep you sharp on the roads. Designed by experienced motorcycle trainers and instructional design experts, the disc provides training on a range of crucial riding skills like hazard perception and decision making. The CD Rom consists of 102 exercises and can be completed over several sessions.
Ride Smart is especially useful for new riders, but can also be valuable to more experienced riders who want to brush up on their skills. The tutorials will take you through many different riding locations: around town, on the freeway and in rural areas. You'll need to make decisions, test your memory as well as your ability to predict what other road users might do next. You'll see what happens when you take risks, or don't concentrate and, just like everyday life, you'll also have to deal with other people's mistakes.
Ride Smart is free, so if you hold a Victorian motorcycle permit or licence simply complete the form below to receive your copy.
Ride Smart, look smart
Once you complete Ride Smart, you'll have the chance to win great prizes. Every three months we give away four $200 vouchers to spend on selected protective gear. Simply click the registration button after finishing all the exercises and follow the prompts. For the latest competition information, view the Terms and Conditions (PDF, 24k).
Troubleshooting
Please note: to use the Ride Smart CD ROM you will need the following system requirements:
64MB or higher; x4 speed CD-ROM or higher;
Sound Card and speakers; Screen resolution of 800 x 600,
16 bit; Microphone; IE 5 or higher; Netscape 4, Safari or higher
PC - Pentium 2 or higher; Windows XP or 2000;
Macintosh - Macintosh G3 or higher; Mac OSX 10.2.2 or higher
Having problems with the CD Rom? View our Troubleshooting file (PDF, 45k) for assistance.
Cornering
The most important factor for any rider on any road when cornering, is to enter at the correct speed. This can only be achieved if and when the bike has been correctly set up prior to entering a corner.
Early braking, good down-changing to the appropriate gear, and the correct road position will allow the rider to lean the bike, negotiate the bend under smooth acceleration until the exit can be visualised, and then accelerate through to the exit point.
The routine would be the same for the next corner. Extreme road camber, double apexes, double back corners and decreasing radius corners are all common on the Great Ocean Road, for example.
There is no room for error - if you accelerate into, or brake late into a corner, it may have serious consequences for you.
When cornering, observe all road speed and advisory speed signs - they are there to assist you making decisions as you approach them. You need to share the road with other users, particularly oncoming traffic. Ask yourself "where is my head" - on your side of the road or on the other side of the road?
On the many tight corners, watch out for oncoming traffic, and do not cut over double lines as there is sure to be someone coming from the opposite direction. Take a wide line, don't fully commit until you can see through the corner. Cranking it over in a corner is not fun if you get a large vehicle embossed on your forehead!
Sight distance is the key to safe cornering. Adjust your speed accordingly. Remember, you can't see around corners.
Allow for other vehicles of all types who may go wide or cut corners. It can all happen in a split second - be aware.
Remember:
• you cannot see around corners,
• ride to your personal ability,
• stopping sight line,
• anything could be around the corner.
Fatigue
The true cause of many fatigue crashes is sleep deprivation. It's not merely a case of how long your trip is, it is also a case of how much sleep you have had in the nights leading up to the ride and the time of day you are riding. Riding without sufficient sleep can be like riding intoxicated. Fatigue impairs your ability to perform critical functions of riding:
Slower reaction times - fatigue affects your ability to react quickly in the same way that alcohol does. In fact, being awake for 17 hours has the same affect on your driving ability as having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05.
Lack of concentration - your short term memory, and ability to process information is significantly decreased as drowsiness increases. This means that errors in calculating speed and distances are more common.
Reduced vigilance - fatigued riders are more likely to try to avoid hazards, and relax their efforts in situations that demand gradual consideration, such as slowly decelerating to avoid colliding with a vehicle ahead.
Fatigue is one of the major contributors to fatal crashes in Victoria, and is suspected to be a primary cause of approximately 20 to 30% of road fatalities. Most fatigue-related accidents occur during normal sleeping hours, and the more severe the crash, the more likely it is that the driver or drivers were fatigued. Fatigue is attributed as a likely factor in almost one third of single-vehicle crashes in rural areas.
And yet many people believe that fatigue is only a problem for long-distance riders and drivers, or that it's a problem that develops during the journey. The truth is that people don't become fatigued from riding - they're already tired when they get on the bike. Long hours, shift work, lack of sleep, and physically demanding roles all take their toll on riders.
What are the symptoms of fatigue?
Fatigue is easy to detect. Some of the more easily recognised symptoms include:
• Yawning
• Sore or heavy eyes
• Slower reaction times
• Finding you're daydreaming or not concentrating on your riding
• Travelling speed creeps up or down
• Impatience
• Impaired riding performance such as poor gear changes
• Stiffness and cramps
Other symptoms include loss of motivation, difficulty in concentrating and deterioration of judgement.
Beating rider fatigue
Rider fatigue is not like other road safety hazards.Unlike drink-riding or speeding, tiredness is not a crime - but it can be just as fatal. However, like drink-riding and speeding, riding when you are tired is a matter of choice, and you can take the following steps to prevent it.
• Get a good night's sleep before heading off on a long trip
• Don't travel for more than eight to ten hours in any one day
• Take regular breaks - at least every two hours
• Don't drink alcohol before your trip. Even a small amount can significantly contribute to rider fatigue.
• Don't travel at times when you'd usually be sleeping.
Take a 15 minute powernap if you feel yourself becoming drowsy.
Riding for the conditions
Set your speed according to your surroundings. Damp sections can pose particular problems for motorcyclists, as do loose surfaces like gravel and dirt. Often there is a build up of loose stones on winding or steep roads, moss in the centre of road between car tyre marks, so extra caution needs to be applied in these conditions.
Motorcycling to many people is a new experience. Often overrepresented in accidents are first-timers - or those not used to the conditions. Consider this when asking friends to ride in a group. Your friends may be not as good as they think - if you have a concern on a particular aspect of their ability, then make sure you communicate with them. Read tips from fellow riders.
Consider rider-training courses for yourself, club or group. If you are a 'born again biker' your riding skills may not be what they used to be. There are great courses available to update your skills, and by doing one of these you may even be able to get a rebate on your insurance, or from your club.
Also beware if you or your friends are on an unfamiliar bike, as its dynamics may be very different to those you're used to.
Before you ride, dress appropriately for the weather conditions as much as you can. We all know that Victoria is notorious for four seasons in one day, however it is important to dress appropriately for your ride, whether it's 30 degrees or pelting with rain. If it's too hot for protective clothing, then it's too hot to ride - full stop.
Current Motorcycle Safety Campaign
To complement its existing motorcycle safety campaign, which had been encouraging riders to wear protective clothing at all times (March 2008), the TAC wanted to make riders aware of their extreme vulnerability on the road.
The new campaign reminds riders about the types of risks they are exposed to every time they ride and that no matter who is at fault, it likely to come of second best in the case of a crash.
Market research undertaken by the TAC indicates that are riders underestimate the level of risk they are exposed to and that many ignore the options that can assist them in reducing their level of risk; including riding at a safe speed, wearing protective clothing and being highly visible.
New Campaign Urges Riders to Reduce the Risks (60sec) 2009
Background on motorcycle crashes
Currently motorcycles and scooters account for 3% of the Victorian motor-vehicle fleet and for 0.6% of the vehicle kilometres travelled. Unfortunately,riders are over-represented in road trauma. In 2008, they accounted for 14% of all road deaths on Victoria’s roads.
Independent research conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicates that riders are 38 times more likely to be seriously injured than motorists. This is a national figure based on serious injury per distance travelled. The full report, it is available at: http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/reports/2008/injcat113.pdf
In 2008, of the 43 motorcyclists fatally injured on Victorian roads, 56% were single vehicle crashes with at least 50% of these crashes involving excessive speed. Almost 50% of motorcyclists killed in 2008 were aged 40 years and above.
In 2008, 43 motorcyclists were killed on Victorian roads, of these:
•93% were male
•44% occurred on roads sign posted at 100km/h or more
•56% were involved in single vehicle crashes
•42% occurred in rural Victoria and
•49% were involved in crashes between the hours of 10am and 6pm
Over 1,000 (1,044) motorcyclists sustained a serious injury in 2008. 254 motorcyclists sustained very severe injuries such as internal injuries, brain injuries, degloving and amputation.
A further breakdown of both fatal and serious injury statistics over the last five years for motorcyclist’s can be found under the Statistics section of the TAC Safety web site.
Previous Motorcycle Safety Campaigns
Protective Clothing - Motorcycle (30sec) 2008
Protective Clothing - Scooters (30sec) 2008
This campaign was developed to highlight the risks associated with riding without the appropriate protective clothing and focuses on two key rider groups; motorcyclists and scooter riders.
Vice Versa (60sec) 2002
This advertisement depicts a driver and motorcyclist who are travelling on the same road, trading places. It highlights the constant risks associated with motorcycling in general traffic and the responsibility of drivers to be more alert and understanding of motorcycles.
1 in 4 (60sec) 1997
This commercial aims to highlight the vulnerability of motorcyclists and communicate the risks relating to motorcycling injuries and fatalities on Victoria's roads.
New Arm (45sec) 1993
The commercial is targeting drivers to look more carefully and closely for motorcycle riders at intersections.
Protective Clothing Belgium 2009
View a graphic video from Belgium which likens the impact of not wearing protective clothing to filing your arm on asphalt. Credits - Agency: Famous; Creative team: Tim Driesen & Joeri Van Den Broeck. (Caution: content is graphic and may be considered offensive.)
Motorcycle Anti-lock Braking System - ABS
Motorcycle ABS may help motorcyclists to avoid crashes by reducing braking distance in the event of a wheel lock-up and therefore supporting stability of the motorcycle when in hard or emergency braking conditions. It becomes active when electronic sensors detect that the wheels are about to lock and consequently moderates the pressure in each brake thereby preventing skidding.
Motorcycles with ABS technology have been shown to be involved in fewer crashes on the road and therefore should be high on the priority list for any rider looking to buy a new motorcycle.
Why do I need it?
Research shows that motorcycle ABS offers significant safety benefits to riders, via reductions in stopping distances and increased stability. ABS is associated with significant reductions in crashes. (See Teoh (2010), Rizzi, Strandroth and Tingvall (2009), Roll, Hoffman and König (2009) for more detail on the effectiveness of motorcycle ABS).
To summarise, this research shows estimates of reductions in crashes attributed to ABS:
- range from a 17% to a 38% reduction in injury crashes, and
- range from a 37% to 53% reduction in fatality or serious injury crashes.
In addition, data from insurance agencies in the USA show that motorcycles with ABS have 22% fewer insurance claims than motorcycles without ABS (Highway Loss Data Institute, 2009).
Closed circuit testing by Vavryn and Winkelbauer (2004) has shown that stopping distances can be reduced by between 5% and 10% and that deceleration rates can be improved by 18% and 35% when comparing ABS with non ABS motorcycles.
Consider the example of a rider with average experience travelling at 100km/h. An estimated braking distance of 58.5 metres is needed to bring the motorcycle to a complete stop in this scenario. With the same bike and rider but the addition of ABS the distance is reduced to 49.5 metres, a reduction of 9 metres in the stopping distance.
*Source: Kuratorium fur Verkehrssicherheit, Wien, 2002
The effectiveness of ABS does vary according to the conditions, with the advantage of ABS being greater in wet or lower grip situations (i.e. loose road surfaces), than in dry high grip conditions.
How does ABS work?
A skidding wheel takes longer to stop than a wheel that is gripping the road surface, and reduces stability of the motorcycle. ABS prevents skidding by moderating the brake pressure applied to each wheel, preventing wheel lock and mitigating rear wheel lift, and thereby enabling a shorter stopping distance and more stable stop.
*Image courtesy of Bosch
Motorcycle ABS operates similarly to ABS in passenger cars however:
- motorcycle braking requirements are different to passenger cars, as front and rear brakes receive separate rider input
- dynamic load change at the wheels is more pronounced with motorcycles than with passenger vehicles
How do I use ABS when riding a motorcycle?
ABS automatically activates when wheel lock is imminent in heavy braking conditions. ABS provides the right amount of pressure to wheels, allowing riders to brake as hard as they can, without the risk of wheel lock. In this way a rider who “grabs” or “jumps” on the brakes as a result of being faced with an emergency situation is able to quickly apply the brakes as hard as possible without the fear of needing to compensate for a wheel locking up.
Are there different types of ABS?
While the term ABS is used across motorcycle makes, there are variations in the braking systems that are combined with ABS and the types of ABS technology used with these systems. Some motorcycle makes also offer traction control in combination with ABS. Traction control systems are different to ABS. Traction control is independent of ABS and complements it, in that traction control acts on vehicle control and stability under acceleration, rather than under heavy braking.
What should I do?
ABS is now available on a range of motorcycles, either as standard or as an optional feature. ABS should be a priority when buying a motorcycle. Ask manufacturers or dealers about whether the model you are interested in has ABS.
A list of some motorcycles that have ABS is available.
References
Highway Loss Data Institute (2009). Insurance Special Report: Motorcycle Antilock Braking System (ABS). December 2009, A-81.
www.iihs.org/research/topics/pdf/hldi_abs.pdf
Rizzi, M., Strandroth, J. & Tingvall, C. (2009). The effectiveness of Antilock Brake Systems on motorcycles in reducing real-life crashes and injuries. Traffic Injury Prevention, 10 (5), 479-487.
Roll, G., Hoffman, O., & König, J. (2009). Effectiveness Evaluation of Antilock Brake System for Motorcycles in Real-World Accident Scenarios. Paper presented at Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference, 2009: Stuttgard, Germany.
www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv21/09-0254.pdf
Teoh, E.R. (2010). Effectiveness of Antilock Braking Systems in Reducing Fatal Motorcycle Crashes. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: Arlington, USA.
www.iihs.org/research/topics/pdf/r1110.pdf
Vavryn, K. & Winkelbauer M. (2004). Braking Performance of Experienced and Novice Motorcycle Riders – Results of a Field Study. Paper presented at International Conference on Transport and Traffic Psychology, 2004: Nottingham, UK.
www.psychology.nottingham.ac.uk/IAAPdiv13/ICTTP2004papers2/Performance/Vavryn.pdf
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Bosch for providing information about the technical aspects of motorcycle ABS and to FCAI for providing information on which motorcycles have ABS as standard or an option.
