The Germany company Bosch has announced the release of technology that can potentially cut down on the number of road accidents involving motorcyclists, with a system of communications that warns both the cars and two-wheelers of likely dangers in advance.
The so-called "smart solution" has been developed in collaboration with Ducati, Autotalks and Australian firm Cohda Wireless.
A statement from Bosch said motorcyclists were 18 times more likely to die in an accident than car drivers, with more than 30,000 motorcycle accidents in Germany. Six hundred of these resulted in fatalities.
“We let motorcycles and cars talk to each other, creating a digital protective shield for riders,” said Dr Dirk Hoheisel, a member of the Bosch board of management. The goal was to prevent dangerous situations from occurring.
{loadposition sam08}Bosch accident research has estimated that motorcycle-to-car communication could cut the number of motorcycle accidents by a third.
"Through safety systems such as ABS and motorcycle stability control, Bosch has already made riding a two-wheeler significantly safer. By connecting motorcycles, we are taking safety to the next level,” Dr Hoheisel said.
The system works by having vehicles within a radius of several hundred metres share exchange information about vehicle types, speed, position, and direction of travel.
Before a motorcycle comes in sight, drivers or their vehicles’ sensors can be aware and drive more defensively.
"For example, typically dangerous situations arise when a motorcycle approaches a car from behind on a multi-lane road, ends up in a car’s blind spot, or changes lanes to pass," the company said.
"If the system identifies a potentially dangerous situation, it can warn the rider or driver by sounding an alarm and flashing a warning notice on the dashboard. In this way, all road users receive essential information that actively helps avoid accidents."
Bosch has been in Australia since 1907 and opened a full-owned subsidiary in 1954.