Motorcycle manufacturers have unveiled a new strategy aimed at further improving safety for motorcyclists in Europe.

At the recent International Motorcycle Conference in Germany, the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) presented ‘The safe ride to the future’ – a document that sets out the industry’s commitment to road safety and proposes further improvements by taking an integrated approach in areas such as vehicle technology, rider training and infrastructure safety.

In line with that ambition, the motorcycle industry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). These are safety systems that allow for communication between vehicles and infrastructure. ACEM members have pledged to make at least one of their models available with a cooperative ITS feature by 2020. Additionally, the industry is conducting research on an embedded eCall system for motorcycles. This would generate emergency calls from a crashed vehicle instantly following a collision. ACEM said that the minimum technical requirements needed for such a system have already been defined and research is now focused on addressing the unsolved technical challenges.

As far as rider training is concerned, ACEM and the German Road Safety Council (DVR) have joined forces to promote voluntary post-licence training schemes across the European Union through a DVR-ACEM Quality Seal. The aim is to help motorcyclists easily identify high-quality training schemes.

ACEM will also organise a series of workshops in various European countries to identify and promote measures to improve road safety at national, regional and local levels.

Commenting on the publication of the new strategy, ACEM secretary general Antonio Perlot said that it confirms manufacturers’ desire to take the lead in road safety. As well as the vehicle, road safety policies must look at vehicles’ safety features, users’ behaviour and the infrastructure on which they operate, he noted.

“As the number of motorcycles and mopeds on Europe’s roads is expected to continue growing, as a reflection of citizens’ expectations, it is essential to ensure that they are adequately integrated into transport policies at all levels. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with European and national policy-makers to achieve our common goal of saving lives,” Perlot concluded.