Vehicle safetyCrash test not with a dummy, but with a stunt man.It is just these requirements that themotorcycle airbag fulfils when a motorcyclecollides head- on with a passenger car.At the same time, a motorcycle airbag canreduce the risk of injury when a motorcyclistimpacts against the tank of his orher motorcycle or gets caught on the handlebars.The series of tests carried out byDEKRA on the basis of the regulations ofISO 13232 (international standard specifying,among other things, the simulationof impact accidents with motorcycles)emphatically underpin this.REDUCING THEMEASURED LOADSA series of tests of the type moving/stationary– the collision partner of the movingmotorcycle was a stationary passengercar – with the collision occurring at rightangles showed that the direct impact of themotorcyclist’s head against the roof edge ofa passenger car can be prevented. After theinitial impact, in the subsequent motionsequence, with its trunk and upper bodyagainst the airbag the dummy (representingthe motorcyclist) glided upwards andits head, avoiding the roof edge, was ableto escape the danger zone. All the loadsexerted on the dummy during the testwith the airbag were much lower than thecorresponding values when the same testwas carried out without an airbag and werealso well below the biomechanical limitvalues. A hybrid III 50th percentile maledummy was used in the initial series oftests. A second series of tests of the typemoving/moving – the moving motorcycleimpacts against the side of an, also,
moving passenger car – showed, in someways similar, positive but also differentiatedresults. For the first time, in tests itfinanced itself, DEKRA used the specialMATD dummy as described in ISO 13232.This very lavishly instrumented dummywas designed specially for the multiple directionsof motion and loads experiencedduring motorcycle impacts. The loadvalues determined using the MATD enablea complete risk-benefit analysis to becarried out in accordance with ISO 13232,which is ultimately the central result of acomplete series of tests with supplementarydigital simulations.In this second series of tests, a very differentmotion sequence resulting from thepre-collision movement of the impactedcar presented itself. Once again, the airbagwas able to prevent head impacts but,because of the distinct lateral movementof the crossing motorcar, the dummy didnot slide onto its roof. Here too, all themeasured values produced by the dummywere below the biomechanical limit value.Apart from the neck bending momentand the neck pressure force, the measuredloads were significantly reduced in allother cases.PROTECTION FORCAR PASSENGERS DURINGSIDE-ON COLLISIONSThe airbag is also important in view of thefact that the trend among car buyers is forever taller vehicles such as SUVs and vans.The problem is that, when a motorcyclistcollides with a high-sided vehicle, his orher head and upper body directly impactagainst the vehicle structure. If the motorcyclistis flung against the lateral front sectionof the vehicle he or she has no chanceof gliding over the hood, as would happenin the case of a passenger car with a lower,flatter front. Steep, high vehicle frontsimpede the trajectory of the motorcyclistand therefore increase his or her risk ofbeing injured.The fatal consequences were underpinnedin a crash test carried out byDEKRA and AXA Winterthur Versicherungin 2004 in Wildhaus, Switzer land.The crash test also showed that, when amotorcycle crashes into the side of a passengercar, the passengers in the car areexposed to a considerable risk. Duringthe test, the impacting motorcycle penetratedthe vehicle to such an extent thatthe head and upper body of the passengerssitting in the area of the impact were atrisk. Under certain circumstances, sideairbags fitted in a passenger car cannotrealise their full protective potential,Motorcycle manufacturers offer their customersmore and more models with ABS.as the release mechanism is primarilydesigned to react to an impact from a car.It is worth noting that an occupant in theaforementioned passenger car is at riskof being injured during a lateral collisionwith a motorcycle. The motorcyclist is notlifted over the vehicle and may penetratethe glass of the side window. A motorcycleairbag may remedy this by initiallyrestraining the motorcyclist when thecrash occurs and then possibly pushinghim or her upwards and raising him orher over the danger zone, i.e. the roof ofthe passenger car. A motorcycle airbagcan, in such case, reduce the risk of injurynot only of the motorcyclist but also of theoccupants of the passenger car.ABS HELPS TOPREVENT ACCIDENTSThere is no doubt that, in the future, thefocus will shift more and more to activesafety systems. Compared with a passengercar, there are fewer possibilities forincorporating passive safety elements intomotorcycles. Therefore, the importance ofthe use of active safety for motorcyclistscannot be overstated. The availabilityof active safety systems is still, however,very limited. Although anti-lock brakingsystems (ABS) and wheel slip controlsystems for motorcycles exist, other marketabletechnical solutions for stabilisingmotorcycles do not. And there is anotherproblem: the existing safety systems areinstalled as standard in very few models.In the majority of cases, they have to bepurchased as extras. Although the numberof motorcyclists who are prepared to digsomewhat deeper into their pockets forthese extras is increasing, the bottom lineis that the number is still far too low. Acommon reason for the lack of acceptanceis that numerous motorcyclists areconvinced that only inexperienced bikersneed an ABS.There is no question that the investmentis worthwhile. Many accidents canbe prevented and the severity of impactscan be reduced through the use of an ABSor a technical assisted braking system.This is one of the conclusions reached by40 | 41
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