When cars and cycles collide, the motorcyclist is most at risk of serious injuries. There is so little protection, there on the bike, whereas the drivers of cars are encased in steel.
Now, new technology may be able to warn passenger car drivers when they are within a “threat range” of a motorcycle. Guiseppe Pino Mileto, an inventor based in Toronto, has announced plans for a transmitter/receiver device called the Motorcycle Warning System. It could potentially reduce accidents significantly by making passenger vehicles more aware of motorcycles.
Despite years of rhetoric about “start seeing motorcycles,” the statistics say that motorists often do not do so – even when they should. According to figures from the Traffic Safety Center Hurt Study, three of every four motorcycle accidents are caused by the failure of other vehicles to be aware of motorcyclists in time to prevent an accident.
For motorcyclists who are all too familiar with the dangers of a collision, the new warning system technology could save thousands of lives and prevent even more injuries. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,290 motorcyclists were killed and 96,000 injured in 2008 alone.
NHTSA calculates that, per vehicular mile traveled, motorcyclists are 37 times more likely to die in a traffic accident than occupants of passenger vehicles, mostly due to other motorists lacking awareness of motorcyclists.
The Mileto device would set off an audible alarm and warning light when a vehicle is sensed within the “threat range.” The alarm and light are designed to increase in intensity as the vehicle gets closer in distance.
Though the device is not yet in active production, its inventor is aggressively seeking companies and investors to sponsor the device. The largest roadblock to the device’s success will probably be convincing vehicle owners to install the device.
Those owners should consider this: Motorists are responsible for thousands of motorcycle accidents every year that could have been prevented. This new device has the potential to stop many collisions from happening at all.
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