Powered Two Wheelers (PTWs) accidents constitute one of the road safety problems in Europe. PTWs fatalities represent 22% at EU level in 2006 [1], having increased during last years, representing an opposite trend compared to other road users’ figures.

In order to reduce these figures it is necessary to investigate the accident causation mechanisms from different points of view (e.g.:​ human factor, vehicle characteristics, influence of the environment, type of accident). SAFERIDER project [2] (‘Advanced telematics for enhancing the SAFEty and comfort of motorcycle RIDERs’, under the European Commission ‘7th Framework Program’) has investigated PTW accident mechanisms through literature review and statistical analyses of National and In-depth accident databases;​ detecting and describing all the possible PTW´s accident configurations where the implementation of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and IVIS (In-Vehicle Information Systems) could contribute to avoid an accident or mitigate its severity.

DIANA, the Spanish in-depth database developed by CIDAUT, has been analyzed for that purpose. DIANA comprises of accident investigation teams, in close cooperation with police forces, medical services, forensic surgeons, garages and scrap yards. An important innovation is the fact that before injured people arrive to hospitals, photographs and explanations about the possible accident injury mechanisms are sent to the respective hospitals (via 3G GPRS technology). By this, additional information to medical staff can be provided in order to predict in advance possible internal injuries and select the best medical treatment. This methodology is presented in this paper.

On the other hand, the main results (corresponding to road, rider and PTW characteristics;​ pre and post-accident manoeuvres;​ road layout;​ rider behaviour;​ impact points;​ accident causations;​…) from the analyses of the PTW accidents used for SAFERIDER are shown. Only accident types relevant to ADAS and IVIS devices have been considered