Technology to improve rider safety

For the last four years, German car makers BMW and Volkswagen along with a range of electronics companies have been working away on a government funded project that would connect cars and traffic lights to one another to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion.

And now the technology is being applied to motorcycles, which could dramatically improve rider safety.

It also begs the question: Is this another sign that Europe's largest car maker, the Volkswagen Group, is interested in developing motorcycles? Probably not, but stranger things have happened.

These automatic systems, when fitted to cars and now motorcycles, transmit information between vehicles, and can therefore calculate via GPS-derived telemetry whether two vehicles are on course for a collision. They use a form of fusion logic to provide a far more concise satellite navigation picture, giving motorists an idea of what to expect on their journey.

Called AKTIV, or Adaptive and Cooperative Technologies for Intelligent Traffic, the system can warn motorists of an impending accident and, in cars, the system can even apply the brakes to avoid a crash. The technology is only beginning to work its way into motorcycles, and at this stage riders are warned of impending trouble via flashing LED lights and tooting the horn.

Dr Peter Zahn, Project Manager with BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH in the Aktiv research initiative, had this to say: "From official statistics and from our own analyses of accident databases in the project, we know that many accidents are attributable to a driver reacting inadequately, too late or not at all.

"Every tenth of a second's reaction time gained makes a crucial contribution to accident avoidance if a vehicle thinks for itself with lightning speed in critical situations and can itself react during a momentary lapse of attention on the part of the driver," explained Zahn.

On top of vehicle-to-vehicle communications, AKTIV can also communicate with traffic lights and other road infrastructure (highway-based traffic flow sensors etc) to determine not only the best route, but also the best speed to travel at.

For instance, AKTIV knows when the traffic lights are about to change and can forewarn drivers/riders and also suggest the ideal speed to either avoid sudden stops and improve traffic flow.

To some people these systems may sound a little Skynet (think Termintors taking over the world and overthrowing humans as the dominant power on planet Earth), while beeping and flashing lights, heads-up-displays and other visual readouts could be seen as distractions that take the focus away from the road ahead.

Even so, AKTIV is already undergoing real world testing in Europe and the US and if proven to enhance safety, systems like these could be commonplace, perhaps even integrated into helmet design. The idea of proactive safety, as opposed to reactive, is also very appealing. Why treat the symptoms if you can avoid the malady in the first place?

At the end of the day, anything that can improve rider safety by alerting motorcyclists to impending danger has to be a good thing.