Daily motorbike news, views & reviews
German tech company Continental is working on a system to make thick A pillars in cars invisible so drivers can see motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians. Most modern cars’ A pillars have have curtain airbags and rollover protection which makes them thick, presenting a huge blind spot that obscures small and vulnerable road users such as …
Hi-tech automated cars make drivers lazy and less likely to see motorcycles which could lead to an increase in Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You (SMIDSY) crashes, a new study has found. Rice University and Texas Tech University studied 60 drivers over a 40-minute drive in a “simulated partially automated vehicle” and found their hazard …
Motorists will be rewarded with cash gift vouchers for seeing motorcyclists in a novel twist to the Joe Rider road safety campaign. Orange Ulysses Branch has won a $4100 Community Road Safety Grant from the NSW Government to run the campaign throughout February. Branch president Lester Davis says he hopes the safety campaign will prevent SMIDSY …
More and more dashcam evidence is convicting traffic offenders and protecting vulnerable motorcyclists involved in SMIDSY crashes. Riders have a few options: Riders can wear a helmet camera which even Queensland police recommend and most police use, although Victoria police still believe it is illegal; They can wear an action camera on their body, but …
Young riders face more restrictions as a new paper suggests raising the motorcycle licence age to 18 as well as high-vis clothing and a night curfew for novices. The South Australian Government is considering the proposals from the University of Adelaide’s Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) which is based on a 2014 Austroads paper. …
Motorcycle awareness should be included in all driver training and increased in safety campaigns, according to the authors of an Australian National University study. It found that drivers are twice as likely to miss seeing a motorcycle compared with a taxi and admit they do not expect to see motorcyclists. Riders refer to this phenomenon …
It is no surprise that the biggest single cause of crashes is the fact that motorists don’t look for riders, according to a US study. The 2017 US Motorcycle Crash Causation Study was only conducted in Orange Country, California. However, the Oklahoma State University study seems to have similar results to other crash studies around the world. …
Attempts to draft uniform national road rules, including helmet and filtering laws, may leave riders even more confused and prone to copping fines from police. Lawyers and motorcycle advocates have warned that draft road rules drawn up by the National Transport Commission (NTC) proposals are fatally flawed and have begun drafting their own proposals. You …
Riders might think drivers don’t care about hitting us, but there is actually scientific evidence that shows they really don’t see us. Of course no driver wants to run into a motorcycle, bicycle or pedestrian. After all, it would cause extensive and expensive damage to their vehicle! The problem is that comparatively small road users …
Riders in Australia’s capital are asked to wear vests with “JOE” on the back while riding around Canberra streets to make motorists aware of motorcyclists. It’s part of the Motorcycle Riders Association of the ACT Motorcycle Awareness Week 2015. President Jen Woods says motorcycle and scooter riders often hear “Sorry Mate, I didn’t See You” …