Motorcycle Stability Control Tops 10 New U.S. Safety Recommendations
Study finds that requiring ABS brakes and stability control on all new U.S. motorcycle models could greatly reduce accident rates.
Anybody who rides a motorcycle knows the inherent risks they take every time they throw a leg over one. There are many potential safety concerns lurking around seemingly every corner, in fact. But the biggest risk of all is the one presented by other drivers on our roadways. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently recognized this fact with a new safety report. The study assesses all of the risk factors motorcycle riders face and makes recommendations for improving crash prevention.
The report found several interesting risk factors worth noting. For starters, modern automotive crash warning and prevention systems are designed primarily to detect other vehicles and even pedestrians, but not motorcycles. They also found that the lack of stability control systems and enhanced braking on bikes makes it more difficult to avoid accidents. More than a third of the crashes analyzed by the study occurred because of loss of control.
Which, unsurprisingly, led to the conclusion that all new motorcycles sold in the U.S. should be equipped with antilock brakes and stability control systems. The NTSB also recommends that motorcycles be included in the development of automotive prevention systems.
During the course of the study, the organization also found that more research is needed to understand how alcohol and drug use contributes to motorcycle risk factors. Finally, they found that motorcycle licensing procedures have not been adequately evaluated for safety and effectiveness. Thus, it’s difficult to determine if they’re actually helping to reduce crashes.
Undoubtedly, many riders will take issue with mandatory ABS and/or stability control. But there’s no denying that the use of both in passenger cars has greatly improved driving safety over the years. And reducing crashes and saving lives is one cause we can all get behind.
