BMF Comments on Right To Ride

In the latest BMF (British Motorcyclists Federation) members’ magazine – Motorcycle Rider,  Right To Ride is featured in a full page article.

The article gives a run down on myself and Elaine and Right To Ride, with mention of our previous background in riders rights and our on-going work at Right To Ride www.righttoride.co.uk

The article reports that we have, “Kept their nose regarding proposals and legislation that come from Europe, using their contacts in the Commission, industry and with other organisations in Brussels, and comment on their EU website: www.righttoride.eu

Also mentioned is our local involvement in motorcycle initiatives like Ride It Right www.rideitright.org and First Aid For Riders www.firstaidforriders.org and the setting up of a Motorcycle Safety forum hosted by the Department of the Environment.

Keeping on the safety theme, the article concentrates on Right To Ride Elaine Hardy’s in-depth study of 41 motorcycle fatalities in Northern Ireland – “Northern Ireland Motorcycle Fatality Report 2012″ – in collaboration with investigators from Forensic Science Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Road Traffic Collision Investigation team. The study was supported by the British Motorcyclists Foundation.

The report has been circulated far and wide with a presentation in June hosted by Michelle McIlveen, MLA at Stormont – Northern Ireland Parliament Buildings.

Attending this presentation was the BMF Northern Ireland director Howard Anderson (who we would like to thank for “pushing” the presentation within the BMF); Chairman from MAG Ireland and Trainer, Marc O’Loideoin; Chairman of the Approved Motorcycle Instructors Association NI, Victor Rodgers;  Road Traffic Collision investigator Damian Coll as well as representatives from the DOE Road Safety, DRD Roads Service, DVA, Representatives from the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG); and others including interested MLAs from Michelle McIlveen’s party.

Two on Computers

The BMF article mentions that at Right To Ride we are two people on computers (which is true). However Elaine will be stepping away from the computer to travel to Germany in September and October to present the findings of the report to international road safety experts and I will be accompanying her to cheer.

The presentations will be at the 5th International ESAR (Expert Symposium on Accident Research) Conference in Hannover and the IFZ (Institut für Zweiradsicherheit e.V.) 9th International Motorcycle Conference in Cologne. The IFZ conference will take place prior to the International Motorcycle, Scooter and Bicycle Fair INTERMOT www.intermot-cologne.com

As the BMF article mentions, “We would like to think that their small contribution may help in the grand scheme of things to keep people motorcycling.”

Only you reading this and our other communications can decide, but we hope that our +1,000 supporters agree.

Trevor Baird

Right To Ride

Right To Ride

BMF Members Magazine – Motorcycle Rider – Summer 2012

RAISING ISSUES, RESEARCH AND FUNDING: NORTHERN IRELAND’S RIGHT TO RIDE LOOK INTO THE REASONS WE COME OFF OUR BIKES… AND HOW TO PREVENT IT

Right To Ride Ltd is a not-for-profit company set up by Trevor Baird and Elaine Hardy in Northern Ireland. The organisation was set up to fight for the rights of motorcyclists and invests in research and raises important issues.

Trevor was the General Secretary for MAG UK then the Technical Officer at FEMA, representing the International Coalition at the UNECE in Geneva.

Elaine was the Research Officer at MAG UK, then went to Brussels, where she successfully bid for over 300,000 Euros in project funding on behalf of FEMA.

In 2009 they decided that committees and internal politics were wearing them down and decided to move to Northern Ireland (Trevor’s birthplace).

Trevor got involved in a local initiative called Ride It Right, which was prompted by two motorcycle fatalities in the Moyle area in April 2009. Meetings were held and this initiative culminated in an event in August 2009. In 2010 and 2011, Trevor got funding from the DOE and promoted further motorcycle safety activities in Northern Ireland including first aid courses for motorcyclists (www.rideitright.org and www.firstaidforriders.org).

They also were instrumental in the setting up of a Motorcycle Safety Forum by the Department of the Environment, Road Safety Division. The first meeting was held in February 2012. They have also got involved in local initiatives through clubs, events and general Northern Ireland motorcycle initiatives (www.righttoride.co.uk).

In the meantime, Elaine carried out research projects relating to motorcycle safety issues. More recently she completed an in-depth study of 41 motorcycle fatalities in Northern Ireland in collaboration with investigators from the Northern Ireland Road Traffic Collision Investigation team.

This study was supported by the British Motorcyclists Federation.

Because of their background, they have kept their nose regarding proposals and legislation that come from Europe, using their contacts in the Commission, industry and with other organisations in Brussels, and comment on their EU website: www.righttoride.eu

It was suggested that Trevor and Elaine are just two people on computers. That’s true, but they’d like to think that their small contribution may help in the grand scheme of things to keep people motorcycling.

NI Motorcycle Fatality Report 2012

Right To Ride has published the Northern Ireland Motorcycle Fatality Report 2012, an indepth study of 39 cases relating to motorcycle fatalities in Northern Ireland between 2004 and 2010.

Evidence In 63.4% of cases motorcyclists applied their brakes prior to the collision and 43.9% applied their brakes severely. Of the 41.4% motorcycles that slid after falling, 24.4% fell onto their right side and 17.1% onto their left side. There were two cases identified where Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS) may have made a difference to the outcome of the collision; both were on a straight section of road.

Analysis

Of the 39 cases analysed,43.6% concluded that another vehicle was the primary cause of the collision. 76.5% of the cases highlighted that the motorcycle’s lights were switched on so the other vehicle’s driver was in a position to see them.

However, there appears to be a problem of looking but not seeing, which may be due to the size of the motorcycle or simply because the car/van driver is expecting to see another car or van and has difficulty coping with the unexpected.

There were four cases (10.3%) of speeding, but in all cases, the actions of the other vehicle driver precipitated the collision. Equally there were four known cases (10.3%) in which the rider had levels of alcohol over the legal limit and/or drugs in their blood. Three of these collisions were single-vehicle (no other vehicle involved) and the fourth ran a red light through an intersection with no headlights on and impacted a car crossing the intersection.

There were nine cases (23%) in which the motorcyclists involved in a collision were either riding in a group or with another motorcyclist. In all these cases the total number of motorcyclists killed was n.11/n.41 (26.8%).

Focus group

A focus group of trainers, a collision investigator, police and government agency representatives discussed the relevance of technology on vehicles as a deterrent to collisions as well as the advantages of teaching hazard perception and anticipation in initial and advanced training as a defence against potential collisions.

The consensus was that while technology may in some cases be beneficial, good training was more important. However, the availability, image and cost of advanced training seemed to be a barrier to getting more riders involved.

The focus group indicated that the best solution to avoid road traffic collisions is anticipation and hazard awareness.

The consensus was that the only reliable way to prevent motorcyclist injuries and deaths is to prevent the collision in the first place, which means the rider needs to get his/her eyes up and scanning ahead, taking evasive action when a potential collision is still several seconds from happening.

For the Article – pdf 87kb – Click Here

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  1. “Of the 39 cases analysed,43.6% concluded that another vehicle was the primary cause of the collision. 76.5% of the cases highlighted that the motorcycle’s lights were switched on so the other vehicle’s driver was in a position to see them.
    However, there appears to be a problem of looking but not seeing, which may be due to the size of the motorcycle or simply because the car/van driver is expecting to see another car or van and has difficulty coping with the unexpected.”
    Try didn’t look properly as texting/on phone or looked, saw but decided might equals right and pulled out knowing the biker rider would have to avoid/stop to avoid getting hurt. Hell the nutty bitches in saxo’s/clit’s even do that to me when I’m driving a sodding great land-rover!

  2. Neil, thanks for your comments.
    There was one case in which the driver of a van was texting and as a result was prosecuted. In another case the driver failed to stop and was prosecuted. In other cases, they did look but weren’t expecting the bike and pulled out, there were in some cases contributory factors – e.g. high hedges, bad lighting etc. However there seems to be a major problem called “inattentional blindness”.
    We should use manners when we are out on the road – that is a civilised thing to do but it seems that the vast majority of road users – car drivers and motorcyclists leave them at home.
    There are drivers that are bad mannered and motorcyclists that are bad mannered. The purpose of the report was to find why things happen in order to find solutions, not point the finger.

  3. bob craven says

    Got to say, and try this at home, where u ride out.
    In my experience some 25% of other vehicle drivers at a junction, whether turning left into your lane or turning right accross your path WILL LOOK TO THEIR LEFT AWAY FROM YOU FIRST.
    After that , if all is clear they may pull out and then look towards you. too late ……….SMIDSY.
    The Highway code and our instruction on the road always say look right and then left and then right etc but many do not appear to know the difference between left and right.
    Lets also understand that there are many more foreign drivers on our roads and they usually drive on the other side of the road and so its natural that they were trained to look left first.
    So look out for this next time that you are out , make a mental note and tell me if I am the only one seeing it.

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