1. Motorcycle crashes and current crash avoidance technology on passenger vehicles
2018 Summit of the National Association
of State Motorcycle Safety
Administrators
Eric Teoh

2. Advanced driver assistance features
Currently available on passenger vehicles
lane
change
assist
parking
assist/
vision
rear automatic
braking
adaptive
cruise
control
front
crash
prevention
lane departure warning
cross
traffic
alert
self
rear
blind spot
detection
left turn assist

3. What if crash avoidance technologies see motorcycles?
Current and rapidly-evolving technologies

4. Studied three classes of crash avoidance technologies
Available on passenger vehicles at time of study
Front crash prevention
Warns and/or brakes if approaching another vehicle too quickly and the driver takes no evasive action
E.g. FCW, AEB, City Safety, EyeSight

5. Studied three classes of crash avoidance technologies
Available on passenger vehicles at time of study
Front crash prevention
Warns and/or brakes if approaching another vehicle too quickly and the driver takes no evasive action
E.g. FCW, AEB, City Safety, EyeSight
Lane maintenance
Warns and/or corrects direction if vehicle unintentionally begins to exit lane and the driver does not correctively steer
E.g. LDW, lane keeping assist, lane centering

6. Studied three classes of crash avoidance technologies
Available on passenger vehicles at time of study
Front crash prevention
Warns and/or brakes if approaching another vehicle too quickly and the driver takes no evasive action
E.g. FCW, AEB, City Safety, EyeSight
Lane maintenance
Warns and/or corrects direction if vehicle unintentionally begins to exit lane and the driver does not correctively steer
E.g. LDW, lane keeping assist, lane centering
Blind-spot detection
Warns the driver of the presence of another vehicle in the blind spot, may intervene if lane change is attempted
E.g. BSW, BLIS, BSM, Blind Spot Intervention

7. Effect on motorcycle crashes
Passenger vehicle front crash prevention, lane maintenance, blind spot detection
Do systems on passenger vehicles detect motorcycles?
If so, how many crashes potentially could be prevented or mitigated?

8. Effect on motorcycle crashes
Passenger vehicle front crash prevention, lane maintenance, blind spot detection
Do systems on passenger vehicles detect motorcycles?
If so, how many crashes potentially could be prevented or mitigated?
Studied two-vehicle crashes: 1 motorcycle and 1 passenger vehicle
No effect for single-vehicle motorcycle crashes
Some effect for 3+ vehicle crashes, but these are difficult to sort out
Crash types classified by likely relevance to each technology type
Considers role of passenger vehicle and motorcycle separately
Some consideration for technology limitations
Fatal, nonfatal injury, and police-reported crashes during

9. Example motorcycle crash
Rider doesn’t appear to be injured

10. Potentially avoidable crash types
Front crash prevention systems on passenger vehicles
Motorcycle turns across path of passenger vehicle
in same direction
Motorcycle rear-ended by passenger vehicle
Motorcycle turns into path of passenger vehicle

11. Potentially avoidable crash types
Lane maintenance systems on passenger vehicles
Head-on, passenger vehicle exited lane unintentionally
Sideswipe, opposite direction, passenger vehicle
exited lane unintentionally
Sideswipe, same direction, passenger vehicle
exited lane unintentionally OR

12. Potentially avoidable crash types
Blind spot detection systems on passenger vehicles
Sideswipe, same direction, passenger vehicle
changing lanes or merging

13. Average annual motorcycle crashes by number of vehicles and severity

14. Average annual motorcycle crashes potentially preventable by 3 technologies on passenger vehicles
Two-vehicle motorcycle crashes,
fatal crashes
nonfatal injury crashes
police-reported crashes
front crash prevention 70
2,981
4,919
lane maintenance 67
907
1,617
blind spot detection 18
1,647
2,092
total
155
5,535
8,628

15. Percent of motorcycle crashes potentially preventable by 3 technologies on passenger vehicles

16. Which of these crash types is more common?
Other findings
Rear-end crashes
Motorcycle got rear-ended by passenger vehicle
Passenger vehicle got rear-ended by motorcycle
Which of these crash types is more common?

17. < Other findings Rear-end crashes
Motorcycle got rear-ended by passenger vehicle
Passenger vehicle got rear-ended by motorcycle
<

18. Which of these crash types are more common?
Other findings
Opposite-direction crashes
Head-on, passenger vehicle exited lane
Head-on, motorcycle exited lane
Which of these crash types are more common?
Sideswipe, opposite direction, passenger vehicle exited lane
Sideswipe, opposite direction, motorcycle exited lane

19. < Other findings Opposite-direction crashes
Head-on, passenger vehicle exited lane
Head-on, motorcycle exited lane
<
Sideswipe, opposite direction, passenger vehicle exited lane
Sideswipe, opposite direction, motorcycle exited lane
These tended to be on curves, more so than when passenger vehicles exited their lanes.

20. Which of these crash types is more common?
Other findings
Left turn in front of oncoming vehicle
Passenger vehicle turns left
across path of motorcycle
Motorcycle turns left
across path of passenger vehicle
Which of these crash types is more common?

21. > Other findings Left turn in front of oncoming vehicle
Passenger vehicle turns left
across path of motorcycle
Motorcycle turns left
across path of passenger vehicle
>

22. >> Other findings Left turn in front of oncoming vehicle
Passenger vehicle turns left
across path of motorcycle
Motorcycle turns left
across path of passenger vehicle
>>

23. >> Other findings Left turn in front of oncoming vehicle
Passenger vehicle turns left
across path of motorcycle
Motorcycle turns left
across path of passenger vehicle
>>
36 percent of the two-vehicle fatal crashes
22 percent of the two-vehicle injury crashes
20 percent of the two-vehicle police-reported crashes

24. >> Other findings Left turn in front of oncoming vehicle
Passenger vehicle turns left
across path of motorcycle
Motorcycle turns left
across path of passenger vehicle
>>
Crash scenario beginning to be addressed by adapting front crash prevention systems
e.g. Volvo S90, V90, XC90; others in development; detecting motorcycles is an issue
36 percent of the two-vehicle fatal crashes
22 percent of the two-vehicle injury crashes
20 percent of the two-vehicle police-reported crashes

25. >> Other findings
Left turn in front of vehicle approaching from left
Passenger vehicle turns left
across path of motorcycle
Motorcycle turns left
across path of passenger vehicle
>>
11 percent of the two-vehicle fatal crashes
13 percent of the two-vehicle injury crashes
10 percent of the two-vehicle police-reported crashes
Also beginning to be addressed by technology

26. Conclusions
Many crash avoidance systems aren’t specifically designed to detect motorcycles
This represents an opportunity to reduce harm by optimizing current technology
10 percent of two-vehicle fatal motorcycle crashes
22 percent of two-vehicle police-reported motorcycle crashes

27. Conclusions
Many crash avoidance systems aren’t specifically designed to detect motorcycles
This represents an opportunity to reduce harm by optimizing current technology
10 percent of two-vehicle fatal motorcycle crashes
22 percent of two-vehicle police-reported motorcycle crashes
Other technological developments should focus on the crash types in which passenger vehicles turn left in front of oncoming motorcycles or cross-traffic motorcycles
Additional 47 percent of two-vehicle fatal motorcycle crashes
Additional 35 percent of two-vehicle police-reported motorcycle crashes

28. Conclusions
Many crash avoidance systems aren’t specifically designed to detect motorcycles
This represents an opportunity to reduce harm by optimizing current technology
10 percent of two-vehicle fatal motorcycle crashes
22 percent of two-vehicle police-reported motorcycle crashes
Other technological developments should focus on the crash types in which passenger vehicles turn left in front of oncoming motorcycles or cross-traffic motorcycles
Additional 47 percent of two-vehicle fatal motorcycle crashes
Additional 35 percent of two-vehicle police-reported motorcycle crashes
Opportunity to develop crash avoidance technologies for motorcycles too
Plenty of engineering and human factors challenges
May benefit single-vehicle motorcycle crashes

29. Eric Teoh
Sr. Statistician
(571)