Motorcycle active safety systems: Assessment of the function and applicability using a population-based crash data set

Objective:Motorcycles and mopeds, often referred to as powered 2-wheelers (PTWs), play an import-ant role in personal mobility worldwide. Despite their advantages, including low cost, space occu-pancy, and fuel efficiency, the risk of sustaining serious or fatal injuries is higher than that foroccupants of passenger cars. The development of safety systems specific for PTWs represents a poten-tial way to reduce casualties among riders. With the proliferation of new active and passive safetytechnologies, the question as to which might offer the most value is important. In this context, a pri-oritization process was applied to a set of PTW active safety systems to evaluate their applicability tocrash scenarios alone and in combination. The systems included in the study were antilock braking(ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), collision warning, curve warning, and curve assist.Methods:With the functional performance of the 5 safety systems established, the relevance ofeach system to specific crash configurations and vehicle movements defined by a standardizedaccident classification system used in Victoria, Australia, was rated by 2 independent reviewers,with a third reviewer acting as a moderator where disagreements occurred. Ratings ranged from 1(definitely not applicable)to4(definitely applicable). Using population-based crash data, the num-ber and percentage of crashes that each safety system could potentially influence, or be relevantfor, was defined. Applying accepted injury costs permitted the derivation of the societal economiccost of PTW crashes and the potential reductions associated with each safety system given a the-oretical crash avoidance effectiveness of 100%.Results:In the 12-year period 2000–2011, 23,955 PTW riders and 1292 pillion passengers werereported to have been involved in a road crash, with over 500 killed and more than 10,000 ser-iously injured; only 3.5% of riders/pillion passengers were uninjured. The total economic cost asso-ciated with these injured riders and pillion passengers was estimated to be AU$11.1 billion(US$7.70 billion;e6.67 billion). The 5 safety systems, as single solutions or in combination, wererelevant to 57% of all crashes and to 74% of riders killed. Antilock braking was found to be rele-vant to the highest number of crashes, with incremental increases in coverage when combinedwith other safety systems.Conclusions:The findings demonstrate that ABS, alone and in combination with other safety sys-tems, has the potential to mitigate or possibly prevent a high percentage of PTW crashes in theconsidered setting. Other safety systems can influence different crash scenarios and are also rec-ommended. Given the high cost of motorcycle crashes and the increasing number of PTW safetytechnologies, the proposed approach can be used to inform the process of selection of the mostsuitable interventions to improve PTW safety.