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The Safety Of Motorcycle Users By Antoni Bańkowski And Damian Frej (Excerpts)

Please note that the studies shared on this website are for informational purposes only. Readers are encouraged to critically evaluate the content and not to accept it as absolute or complete without further verification. The views expressed in the studies do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website.

1. Introduction 

Motorcyclists are 28 times more likely to die in a road accident than passengers in passenger cars. According to WHO, 14% of all road fatalities are motorcyclists. It should be noted that improving these statistics is possible by training and educating motorcyclists, improving motorcycle safety, and improving infrastructure. It should be noted that every motorcycle allowed on the road must be approved. Motorcycles are classified as category L vehicles and require homologation. This group includes all motor vehicles with two or three wheels, as well as selected four-wheeled vehicles and mopeds. For a motorcycle to be approved, it must meet several important safety requirements regulated by Regulation (EU) No. 168/2013.

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Unfortunately, it should be noted that the requirements for introducing a motorcycle to the market are much smaller than in the case of a passenger car. It should undoubtedly be noted that, although motorcycles do not have almost any additional active and passive systems that increase safety, the last decade has seen an increase in the popularity of motorcycle users. Motorcycles are becoming an increasingly common means of transport. This trend is clearly visible in Poland, where in the last decade there has been a 60% increase in the number of motorcycles, and now over 1.8 million such vehicles are registered. The growing popularity of motorcycles is visible in the statistics of road accidents. Between 2017 and 2019, around 3500 motorcyclists died on European roads every year. It should be noted that the number of motorcyclist fatalities still accounts for around 16% of all fatalities on European roads. Motorcycles are becoming an increasingly popular means of transport in European countries, especially in cities. In Asian countries, they constitute a large number of vehicles on the streets.

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In Poland, in 2010, 1,013,000 motorcycles were registered, while in 2020 there were 1,669,000 and in 2021, 1,750,000. It can be seen that in 2020 and 2021, almost 70% more motorcycles were registered than in 2010. Due to the increasing number of motorcycles, scientific research units have begun to study and analyse road accidents involving motorcycles, because motorcycles do not have as many safety systems as vehicles, and the driver and passenger are not protected to the same extent as vehicle users. Of all road accidents victims, 28% are motorcyclists. In Asian countries, there is a higher percentage of motorcyclists among the victims in Thailand and India – as much as 76%. Every year in Poland there are a large number of accidents involving motorcyclists. Data on the number of accidents are presented in Figure 2. According to police reports, in 2021 there were 2,050 accidents involving motorcyclists.

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For safety reasons, motorcycle crash tests do not use volunteers, only anthropometric dummies. Anthropometric dummies from the Hybrid III dummy family were mainly used for the study. People involved in crash testing motorcycles decided to develop an anthropometric dummy adapted to testing two-wheelers. As a result of this idea, the MATD 1 dummy (Motorcyclist Anthropometric Test Device) was developed and created. The dummy is presented in Figure 4. The dummy was made as a result of the modification of the Hybrid III dummy The dummy has built-in sensors that enable wireless data collection. The Hybrid III dummy’s standard femurs and tibias have been replaced with brittle bones equivalent to human bones, and knee joints have been created to simulate the possibility of ruptured ligaments. This is in order to observe the injuries that occur during the events and to better represent the movement of the limbs during the collision.

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In order to analyse road incidents, either crash tests are performed according to strictly defined standards or computer simulations are performed to simulate a collision between a motorcycle and a vehicle. The Commission of the European Community in a white paper set the target of reducing the number of road users killed by 50% compared to 2010. This target was not achieved in 2020, but was postponed to 2030 in accordance with the European Transport Directive Policy. Achieving this requires exploring all options and putting in place protection measures with proven potential. The secondary safety of motorcycles is also important in this respect. The ISO 13232 standard describes the form of impacts, crash tests and the possibility of calculating the risk and benefit of the motorcyclist in relation to real conditions. The literature on the subject also includes studies and crash tests of motorcycles with protective barriers and concrete barriers. Research centres also conduct research into the potential of protective motorcycle clothing.

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It is well known that motorcyclists involved in accidents are at high risk of serious injury. Although injuries in a road accident affect the whole body (mainly the head and chest). Head injuries are still one of the leading causes of death among motorcycle riders. Significant effort has been made in recent decades to reduce the risk of fatal head injuries among motorcyclists, especially through road safety legislation and the compulsory wearing of helmets. Direct investigations collect information on the displacement and acceleration that occur during the event. In addition to crash tests, medical reports are analysed concerning the injuries suffered by the driver of the vehicle. Based on these studies, it can be seen that motorcycle helmets prevent loss of life and reduce the risk of serious skull injuries. The type of helmet that the rider was wearing is also analysed. In addition to crash tests, motorcycle helmets are tested in a simulation environment (Figure 14) and in laboratories (Figure 15) in which the helmet is struck on the ground or a heavy element simulating a collision is dropped on the helmet.

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Crash tests of motorcycles enable the development of newer and newer solutions that increase the safety of motorcyclists. The tests allow us to determine the forces acting on the motorcyclist and on the vehicles during the event. The motorcycle hitting the side of the vehicle had a speed of about 50 km/h. During the test, the initial position of the driver’s head and its displacement relative to the trunk were determined using a high-speed camera. In addition, during the test, the impact of the padding inside the helmet on the victim was checked. The conducted tests showed what part of the kinetic energy of the motorcyclist’s body was dissipated during the collision. The dissipation of energy depended on the course of deformation of the vehicle body at the point of impact of the motorcyclist’s head and the helmet, and on the type of helmet lining material.

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Conclusions

Although motorcycles have many advantages, there are also disadvantages, mainly related to safety. The biggest safety issue with motorcycles is that they are lightweight two-wheeled vehicles with powerful engines that can accelerate faster and top speeds higher than most other vehicles. Moreover, motorcyclists do not have a vehicle cover compared to other vehicles, and the balance of the motorcycle is highly dependent on the skill of the rider. Due to the relatively small contact patch between the road surface and the motorcycle (tyres), any loss of friction between the front or rear tire and the road surface, such as when turning or cornering, can have a significant negative impact on handling. In addition, their relatively small size makes them less detectable and less predictable for car drivers. From the information above, road accidents involving motorcyclists can often have serious consequences. This is confirmed by accident statistics. More and more motorcycles are on the roads and their riders account for almost one-third of all road fatalities. In addition, there are countries where they account for more than half all the victims. In Poland alone, over 25,000 people have died in road accidents in the last 10 years. On the other hand, almost 3,000 people have died in road accidents involving motorcyclists in the last 10 years. For this reason, it is very important to research issues related to motorcycle safety as much as possible. As a result of such research, it is possible to make changes to vehicles, protective clothing and road infrastructure in order to increase the safety of two-wheelers. The tests allow us to know exactly what forces are acting on the human body and the vehicle. During the research, research teams also develop research dummies in order to conduct the most accurate research. In further works, the authors intend to make a forecast of road accidents and fatalities involving motorcycles until 2035 and will compare road accidents involving motorcycles in Poland and selected EU countries in the years 2010–2022.