Getting the proper license to ride what you're astride means that you are less likely to crash. Riders with no licenses or improper licenses crashed more frequently than riders who were properly licensed for what they were riding. This reiterates the conclusions of other studies from other countries, including the U.S.
Training, Experience and Familiarity Work for You
Riders who took some sort of rider training were more likely to try some sort of avoidance maneuver, such as braking or swerving. Untrained riders were more likely to sit there and crash without doing anything to prevent it. Riding experience--both total and on the bike being ridden-- worked in the rider's favor, in terms of fewer crashes. A quarter (24.2%) of the accidents studied involved riders with less than six months experience. Inexperienced riders were also more likely to do something that caused the accident. As other studies have found, you are in more danger on a bike that is new to you (which is bad news for motorcycle testers--or at least an excuse).
Skills Aren't Always Enough, However
The study concludes that "73.1% of all PTW riders attempted some form of collision avoidance immediately prior to impact. Of these, 32% experienced some type of loss of control during the manoeuvre." It also noted that the accident scenarios often presented situations that, once encountered, were beyond the avoidance skills of the vast majority of street riders.
As with other studies, the MAIDS researchers found that helmets do a good job of protecting their users, providing they fit and fasten them properly. Since this was Europe, 90 percent of the crashers were wearing helmets, and they did a good job--when they stayed on. However, 9 percent of the helmeted riders lost their helmets during the crash, either because they didn't fit properly, weren't fastened properly, or were damaged during the crash. Other protective gear also did a good job of attenuating the most common injuries--to arms and legs--though such gear didn't prevent all injuries.
The authors note that the typical accident speed was modest. In 70 percent of the crashes, the rider hit the car or other object at under 30 mph. Of course, the severity of injuries went up with crash speed. However, speed by itself didn't turn out to be a huge factor in crash causation. The report says: "There were relatively few cases in which excess speed was an issue related to accident causation," but notes that a speed differential--going either faster or slower than nearby traffic--was a contributing factor in 18 percent of the crashes.
The study found that 90 percent of all threats were in front of the riders who crashed as a result of them. This correlates with other studies, including Hurt.
Over half the accidents happened in intersections. 72% of the accidents took place in urban areas, and a motorcycle was more likely to collide with a passenger car in an urban area (64% of crashes) than in a rural area, where crashes with cars were 47% of the crashes.
Weather was deemed to be a factor in 7.5% of the accidents.
"Roadway design defects" caused or contributed to the crashes 3% of the time.
What Kind of Bikes Crash Most?
The only type of bike that was over-represented in the MAIDS data was "modified conventional street motorcycles." Engine size also didn't show up as a risk factor, which checks with other studies that have used exposure data. There were not enough bikes equipped with anti-lock brakes to draw any conclusion about their effectiveness. Of course, cruisers and choppers are less common in Europe than in America.
Good news for typical cruiser riders: Riders aged 41 to 55 crashed less frequently than the exposure data said they should, but as with previous studies youth and enthusiasm were dangerous. Riders between 18 and 25 years of age crashed more than their fair share. In America, riders over 40 have been showing up as a larger percentage of the crash victims, and since there is no exposure data, there has been concern that they are over-represented. The MAIDS study suggests that issue is not their age, though there may be cultural or other differences that make the situation different. At least age by itself doen't make you unsafe.
In 9 percent of the accidents where a passenger was being carried, the passenger shifted his or her weight and thereby contributed to the accident.
Check Your Tires and Brakes
Tire failure was the only technical failure that made a real blip in the MAIDS data, at 3.6%. Brake problems were cited in 1.2% of the accidents.
The complete 173-page report can be downloaded as a PDF file from the site of the ACEM, (Association des Constructeurs Europeens de Motocycles, the European motorcycle industry organization). You can also click through the findings page by page from the main page. You must go through a free registration and confirmation process (including giving your email) for access to it.