SAFERIDER, an international consortium of new technology designers brought together by the European Commission, is developing new devices capable of informing, or limiting, motorcyclists’ control over their bikes.
The spectre of dangerous, destabilising and distracting devices being fitted to your next bike is not one that riders take lightly. There is a very real risk that politicians and policy makers will mistakenly think fitting car-safety devices to bikes will improve road safety, when the opposite could be the result.
The Motorcycle Action Group today urged riders to act now so that future bikes escape inappropriate technology. “We are at a crucial stage in the development of these devices…” said MAG Campaigns Manager, David Short “but we have a golden opportunity to tell the designers what will work for us or against us.”
FEMA, the European organisation comprising national riders groups across the continent, has argued its way into the expert group to defend motorcyclists’ interests and set-up an on-line survey so that riders themselves can tell the designers which technologies are a dead-end.
However, some media coverage of this achievement has painted FEMA’s success as if it were supporting the concept of taking control away from riders.
“Bizarrely, some riders have been misinformed about the role of FEMA and now think the riders groups are in favour of removing their control over their bikes” said Mr Short. “MAG and the other FEMA member organisations are utterly opposed to the threat of removing control from the rider; we have a seat at the table where we can explain why some of these technologies would work against our safety”.
For your chance to tell the international group of technology designers what you think they should work on, and what to avoid, complete the on-line survey at www.saferider-eu.org/your_opinion.html before the end of August.