Accident research: when bikers crash into the trunk

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When bikers crash into the trunk

Motorcyclists often crash into the rear window at full throttle

This video shows impressively how motorcyclists fly through the rear window in a rear-end collision. Because according to accident research by insurers, this is the most common type of accident among bikers. Source: N24 Autoplay

A test run proves that even accidents at 30 km / h can cause serious injuries to motorcyclists. Experts are calling for driver assistants such as distance warning systems to be installed as standard.

D.he motorcyclist has no chance: When the yellow station wagon in front of him suddenly slows down, it slams into the rear of the car at 67 km / h without braking. He pierces the rear window with his head and lands with his upper body in the hold. Then it falls out and remains motionless on the street behind the car.

Fortunately, this horror accident did not happen with a human body in traffic, but with a dummy on the motorcycle in the CTS crash test center in Munster. The client of the spectacular crash was the accident research of the insurers (UDV), which is concerned about the comparatively high proportion of such accident scenarios.

Of the accidents caused by motorcycle and scooter drivers themselves, 48 ​​percent are accidents in longitudinal traffic. Typical situation: the biker hits a car that is slowing down or has come to a stop because he can no longer brake or swerve.

"Even at collision speeds of 30 km / h, serious injuries are the result," said Siegfried Brockmann, head of the UDV. "At speeds of over 60 km / h, such accidents are usually fatal." This was impressively demonstrated by the dummy in Munster.

Short distance, lack of attention

In order to analyze the main causes of biker accidents, the UDV meticulously examined 194 accidents involving motorbikes in cooperation with an engineering office, the Saarland University Hospital and the Saarland police. Nine two-wheelers were killed, 45 percent suffered severe and 47 percent minor injuries.

The above-average proportion of rear-end collisions is naturally primarily due to insufficient distance or insufficient attention. But driving physics also play a role: "In contrast to a car driver, a two-wheeler cannot suddenly swerve by changing direction in order to prevent a collision," says Brockmann. "Moving the upper body to the right or left costs valuable fractions of a second."

The braking distances of motorcycles and scooters are also significantly longer than those of cars. Although ABS is now mandatory for new bikes, the majority of the existing bikes – experts estimate around ninety percent – still ride without an anti-lock braking system.

Haptic distance warning

The UDV study also shows that among 21 to 30-year-old drivers the proportion of single accidents reached a peak value of 40.0 percent, while in the group of 41 to 50-year-olds the rate of other people involved in the accident, predominantly car Drivers, with 38.5 percent predominates.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, of a total of 26,924 motorcycle accidents in 2012, 52 percent were caused by the bikers themselves, 58 percent were solo accidents without anyone else involved.

In order to reduce the risk of accidents, Brockmann is demanding that the industry install anti-lock braking systems with lean angle detection and distance radar as standard, as well as intelligent driver assistance systems such as a distance warning through appropriate haptics in the throttle grip. In view of the ever increasing engine power – 22 percent of the accident-causing motorcyclists drove machines with more than 136 hp – driver safety training is vital.

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