Tag Archives: austroads

Automatic emergency call technology for bikes

Motorcycles should be fitted with automatic crash call technology to reduce emergency response times which are more lethal in Australia’s rural and remote areas, an Austroads report has found.

The Guide to Road Safety Part 5: Road Safety for Rural and Remote Areas also suggests compulsory first-aid training for learners and those renewing licences in rural and remote areas.

It points out that motorcyclist deaths have remained stable in major cities over the past decade, but increased in regional and remote Australia by up to almost 50% in recent years.

Click there for more details.

Slow response timesOutback adventure Royal Flying Doctor Service calls

Delays in reaching crash victims in rural and remote areas include difficulties in locating crash sites and a lack of mobile phone reception, according to emergency organisations and motorcycle rider groups.

The report found the average time for a first responder to arrive at a motorcycle crash in rural and remote areas was 55 minutes compared with 18 minutes in urban areas.

Remote crash victims also took an average of 11.6 hours to arrive at a hospital emergency department compared with 59 minutes in urban areas.

“Retrieval time subsequently impacts on crash outcomes with delays until discovery or delays in accessing the trauma system increasing the risk of mortality following major trauma,” the repot finds.

The probability of a rider dying increased by 2.7% for every 100km from a hospital.

It’s a worrying statistic for adventure riders heading out into the Outback.

As a more rural example, the report says more than half of all Victorian motorcycle crashes occur in the Gippsland region where ambulance response times are 29.9 minutes compared with metropolitan times of 12.7-17.2 minutes.

South Australia and NSW are the only states with post-crash emergency response in their road safety strategy and action plans.

Auto emergency call tech

Austroads claims automatic collision notification (ACN) would reduce crash fatalities by up to 3.8% and calls for the systems in all vehicles, including motorcycles.

These emergency call systems have been available in cars for some time and are now mandated throughout Europe with motorcycles expected to be included in the future.

BMW Motorrad is the first motorcycle company to offer an SOS button in Europe.

BMW SOS button motorrad win mandated calls
BMW SOS button

It is not yet available in Australia because of an eCall hardware update and the lack of a nationwide rollout.

The button alerts the emergency services and provides GPS co-ordinates of the rider’s position.

It is also connected to various sensors on the bike to detect whether the rider has crashed.

However, the report notes that problem with these systems in Australia is the lack of mobile phone coverage in rural areas.

Riders can also use an EPIRBdownload an emergency app or try this Aussie-made Sentinel device.

Austroads suggests compulsory first-aid education for all motorists, especially learner riders and those renewing licences in rural and remote areas.

However, Queensland has already rejected this proposal because of the difficulties of supplying training in regional communities.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Slug riders over regional crashes: Austroads

Regional speed limits should be reduced up to 30km/h and riders slugged with a levy to fix rural roads, according to a new Austroads report.

The worrying proposals are included in the Guide to Road Safety Part 5: Road Safety for Rural and Remote Areas.

It points out that motorcyclist deaths have remained stable in major cities over the past decade, but increased in regional and remote Australia by up to almost 50% in recent years.

The report suggests “safety improvements on popular motorcycle routes” potentially funded by a levy on compulsory third-party injury insurance for riders as well as speed limits aligned with “road attributes”.Austroads regional road safety report

Poor-quality regional roads

Since regional roads are in such a poor state, that means speed limits would come down if Austroads had its way. (Austroads is the prime research authority advising Australian and New Zealand governments and transport authorities.)

The Austroads’ report suggests speeds be set to “minimise the effect of a crash given the current road infrastructure”.

It notes that the ability of riders to survive a crash “decreases rapidly” above 30km/h and says speed limits should be set “within these tolerance limits”.

The report points out that speeds limits in Sweden and the Netherlands are based on “harm minimisation principles in contrast to those set in Australia”.

Road type Australia Sweden Netherlands
Local streets 50km/h or more 30km/h 30km/h
Other streets 60km/h or more 50km/h 50km/h
Undivided road (low quality) 100km/h 70km/h 80km/h
Undivided roads (good quality) 100-110km/h 90km/h 100km/h
Motorways/divided roads 100-110km/h 110km/h 120km/h

It follows a similar suggestion at a Victorian Road Trauma Summit to reduce speed limits on unsealed country roads from 100km/h to 80km/h.

This has been a hobby horse of Victorian Assistant Police Commissioner Doug Fryer for several years as this 2017 video shows.

Rider numbers increase

The report does acknowledge that the increase in regional motorcyclist fatalities is largely due to the increase in the riding popularity.

Rider registrations are up 5% a year while estimated kilometres travelled is up 4% a year.

It also notes that motorcyclist fatality rates per registered vehicle and per kilometre travelled actually decreased by 0.9% from 2008-10 to 2016.

However, the report points out a shift from urban deaths to regional deaths over the same period:

  • Regional motorcycle fatalities increased 15.4% and remote deaths were up a whopping 49.3%;
  • 59% of motorcyclist fatalities occurred in regional and remote Australia during the four-year period 2012-2015, an increase of 53% over the previous four years;
  • Most regional motorcycle crashes were riders running off the road and hitting a tree, barrier, sign or other roadside hazard;
  • The typical motorcycle fatality or hospitalisation in regional and remote areas is a male motorcyclist who is riding recreationally during daylight hours on the weekend and is involved in a single-vehicle crash; and
  • Motorcycles are over-represented in crashes with animals with more than 80% involving kangaroos, but it also noted an underreporting of animal-related crashes.

Speed management

The report admits a lack of data on motorcycle crashes.

Yet it says speed limits in regional and remote areas are “high and do not necessarily reflect the risks of travelling on a given road (eg unsealed surface), or the existing infrastructure (eg unprotected trees close to the road)”.

Speed management is necessary in the absence of adequate infrastructure,” it says.

“The primary means for speed compliance is via enforcement, which is inherently difficult in regional and remote areas due to expansive road networks and a lack of resources.”

It suggests “vehicle-based speed management technologies” which could include speed limiters.

“Any gains in speed management are beneficial,” it concludes.Lower speed limits on rural intersections regional

Safety ‘initiatives’

Austroads reports that “initiatives” to improve motorcyclist safety have included:

Safety suggestions

Apart from a reduction in regional speed limits, the report calls for a number of other moves, particularly targeting riders:

  • National mass media campaigns targeting motorcyclists;
  • riders encouraged to ride bikes with ABS and emerging autonomous emergency braking (AEB) technology that detects imminent forward collisions and reacts by automatically applying the brakes without rider intervention;
  • motorcycle blackspot/black programs for regional areas;
  • use more flexible roadside barriers and signs;
  • install more under-rails on existing barriers;
  • audit regional road hazards for motorcycle-specific hazards, particularly by motorcycles such as Queensland’s award-winning instrumented bike; 

    Brett Hoskin with TMR audit bike
    Queensland’s road audit bike

  • improve regional emergency services crash response times (click here for more details); and
  • examine more graduated restrictions for novice riders including a minimum period with a car licence before motorcycle licensing as in Queensland and “licensing options” for returning riders.

The report states that AEB technology reduces low-speed rear-end crashes for passenger vehicles, but notes that it is not yet available for motorcycles.

“Once AEB technology has been improved and is readily available in Australia, its benefits should be promoted to motorcyclists in regional and remote areas who are looking to purchase a new motorcycle,” it states.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Passing lanes make motorists safer

Passing lanes make motorists safer with many speeding up to 125km/h to safely pass, yet police continue to set up speed traps in these safe sections of road.

Austroads has published a report that found passing lanes have many safety benefits, including perceived safety by motorists, safer operational conditions, and historical crash reductions.

That’s despite the fact that their research shows 85% of motorists break the speed limit to pass vehicles.

So why the speed traps in these lanes? Probably because police know they can “nab” a good quota of speeders.

Such a disingenuous practice penalises motorists who are actually being safe.

It’s not that motorists are speeding through these sections so they can continue to speed and represent a danger on the road.Passing lanes

In fact, the research shows the zones before and after overtaking lanes are made safer by the presence of these lanes.

Crash rates around passing lanes:

  • 18.9% reduction in injury crashes in the passing lane;
  • 10.% reduction 5km after the lane; and
  • 17.6% reduction up to 2km before;

The last figure may be due to the presence of signage advising a passing lane is ahead.

In Australia, these signs are placed 3km before the overtaking lane, while in New Zealand they are 2km ahead.

Passing lane woes

We would also like to see trucks and vehicles towing trailers and caravans prevented from overtaking in these lanes unless there are no following vehicles.

Problems arise when trucks take the entire length of a passing lane to overtake another truck.

That can leave a trail of frustrated and annoyed motorists unable to pass the first truck which could lead to dangerous overtaking manoeuvres.

It’s not just trucks that cause problems, but motorists who try to pass but stay within the speed limit.

Passing lanes
Slow vehicle overtaking

That’s because they are concerned police will have a speed trap in the lane.

If there were a requirement for vehicles in the “slow lane” to reduce their speed by 10km/h or an allowance for overtaking motorists to momentarily speed — as is already happening by 85% of users — more vehicles could pass.

That would lead to reduced risk-taking and road rage.

There have also been incidents of motorists purposely using the passing lane to block other motorists, including these two riders in 2017 on the Bruce Highway, Queensland.

Riders blocking vehicles from passing
Riders block vehicles from passing

There are fines for this sort of behaviour. In Queensland, motorists can cop a $76 fine and two demerit points for driving in the right lane without overtaking in areas with 90km/h or higher speed limits, including passing lanes.

Click here for more tips on the correct procedure for motorcycles to overtake.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com