The high proportion of seriously injured persons and fatalities in traffic accidents involving motorcycles makes it clear that the protection of the motorcyclist is still not satisfactory. Since the middle of the Seventies it has therefore been an objective of accident research to reduce the injury risk of the motorcycle driver. By way of introduction, a survey is given of the current studies in Germany and abroad for improving motorcycle safety and of the different concepts.
The accident analyses, crash tests and mathematical simulations, carried out by the HUK-Verband, showed that the most important objective in reducing the severity of injuries is the optimization of the path of movement of a motorcyclist involved in an accident. Findings with regard to single vehicle accidents and with regard to the different collision types, if a motorcycle collides with another vehicle, are presented.
It can be seen that in both the accident in which no other vehicle was involved and in the different motorcycle/car-collision types, the reduced accident severity of the motorcyclist resulted from the controlled separation from his machine. This can be influenced by constructive measures, such as, for example, knee-pads, optimized tank and handle-bar designs, additional construction elements and possibly by an airbag in front of the motorcyclist.
Proposals for such safety designs are presented and their possible effects are estimated and discussed. On the basis of these scientific results questions relating to the practical application are dealt with.