A document being called "the most comprehensive in-depth data currently available for Powered Two Wheelers (PTWs) accidents in Europe" has been published by the European motorcycle-industry organization that funded it. Officially titled Motorcycle Accidents In Depth Study (MAIDS), the reposrt is based on investigations of 921 motorcycle accidents (including 103 fatality accidents) from study areas in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Because the MAIDS team used the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) methodology for on-scene in-depth motorcycle accident investigations, the report provides the sort of comprehensive results rarely seen in motorcycle safety research, and not available for North American motorcycle accidents since the Hurt Report of the early 1980s. Incorporating the OECD methodology also maintained a consistency between the groups conducting the accident investigations for MAIDS that permits the data to be compared directly with that of other researchers who use the same system, such as a Honda-funded study conducted in Thailand a few years ago.
The MAIDS researchers collected exposure data, that is, information about riders who did not crash in similar locations and situations, which permits researchers to explore how operators of vehicles that crash are different than the control group that does not crash. In the words of the MAIDS authors, "This exposure information on non-accident involved PTW riders was essential for establishing the significance of the data collected from the accident cases and the identification of potential risk factors in PTW accidents. For example, if 20% of non-accident involved PTWs in the sampling area were red, it would be significant if 60% of those PTWs involved in an accident were reported to be red, suggesting that there is an increased risk of riding a red PTW. On the other hand, if none of the PTWs in the accident sample were red, it would be an interesting finding, needing further study."
MAIDS was funded by the Association of European Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) with support from the European Commission and other partners. We wish the American motorcycle industry would follow the lead of its European counterparts.
Although there are significant differences in the roadway structures, cultures, cars, PTWs (there were more scooters in the crashes studied than we'd expect in an American study, for example), and other factors between the European countries where the study was conducted and the United States or other places, there still seem to be many findings in the MAIDS report that are useful and probably relevant to American riders. Some of the revelevant finds we say in the report follow.
In half of the collision accidents, the driver of the other vehicle was judged to have made the primary error that caused the crash, and that driver failed to "perceive" the motorcyclist in 70 percent of the two-vehicle collisions. In 37 percent of the the accidents with a "partner," it was the motorcyclist who created the problem. As other research has concluded, drivers with motorcycling experience are more likely to see and avoid motorcyclists. The object motorcyclists most often collided with were passenger cars, so the two-vehicle accident is the major concern for motorcyclists, at least in Europe. The failure of drivers to see motorcyclists reinforces the need for motorcyclists to dress conspicuously, and in this study as in others, riders wearing dark clothing were more likely to crash than others. A recent study in New Zealand found that simply wearing a white helmet significantly reduces the likelihood of a crash.
Plenty of riders crashed by themselves, though. The second most common point of impact was "the roadway" itself. Yes, some of these non-collision accidents happened as the rider attempted to avoid hitting a car, but plenty of riders managed to crash all by themselves. In rural areas, over half the accidents studied happened without the involvement of another vehicle. This still leaves plenty of opportunity for serious injuries from curbs and roadside "furniture," especially those barriers intended to corral out-of-control cars. The authors note that collisions with such barriers often results in "serious lower extremity and spinal injuries as well as serious head injuries."
Rider inattention was cited in 10.6 percent of the crashes. Both riders and drivers "failed to account for visual obstructions" in as many as a third of the accident. A parked truck, roadside bushes or glare can hide something, and motorcyclists need to allow for the possibility that it might be there. They also need to realize that even a small object can block a drivers view of them and adjust their lane position to be seen or accommodate the possibility that the driver might pull in front of them.
Fewer Drinkers, But They Still Crash More
Studies and statistics from other studies around the world has shown that as many as half of the crashers and motorcycle fatalities involved riders who had been drinking, but in the MAIDS research, only 5 percent of the crashers had been drinking. However, drinkers were still determinded to crash 2.7 times more frequently than sober types. Crashing motorcyclists were also more likely to have been drinking than the drivers they collided with.