A study published by the PMC US, Motorcycle rider conspicuity and crash related injury: case-control study, is one of the studies to focus on whether the visibility of motorcyclists to drivers of enclosed vehicles plays a major role in collisions. Several studies have found that drivers of larger vehicles simply don’t perceive small motorcycles or bicycles or pedestrians. Our Houston motorcycle accident attorneys report that this and other studies have found that increasing motorcyclist visibility really does help prevent Texas crashes.
In half of car drivers’ collisions with motorcycles, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) at Texas A&M University found that the car drivers said they hadn’t even seen the motorcycles before the crash.
The Hurt Report remains the major U.S. study on motorcycle accidents and injuries. It was conducted decades ago, but many of its overall conclusions remain valid. That study included one of the only studies of whether increasing motorcyclist visibility through wearing brighter and lighter clothing and helmets could help reduce the incidence of crashes. The Houston motorcycle accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that the Hurt Report concluded that brighter colors would help some, but the question was not a major focus of the study.
Motorcycle rider conspicuity and crash related injury: case-control study has taken a modern, in-depth look at the question of rider clothing and helmet colors and concluded that wearing lighter and brighter colors could reduce the number of crashes with other vehicles and resulting serious injuries and deaths by up to one third.
The Ideas Behind the Motorcycle Crash Study
A large amount of crash data and anecdotal evidence over the years has indicated that the relatively low physical conspicuity (or visibility) of motorcyclists to other vehicle drivers is a significant contributing factor in a large proportion of collisions causing injury or death.
Our Houston motorcycle accident attorneys emphasize that the social and monetary costs of motorcycle crash injuries, disabilities, and fatalities are very high. Untimely deaths, hospital admissions and stays, lost income, rehabilitation and therapy, ongoing medical costs, property damage, legal expenses, family grieving, and suffering generate ongoing social and financial costs.
The relatively low visibility of motorcycles to drivers of larger vehicles might result from:
Traffic crashes take a disproportionate toll upon victims not protected by enclosed vehicles. The study examined whether inexpensive and easy protective measures that enhance a biker’s visibility, like use of headlights at all times and the use of bright, light, fluorescent, or reflective colors (in the helmet, rider clothing, and the motorcycle) could help increase motorcyclist conspicuity and decrease the risk of serious injuries or deaths. The Houston motorcycle accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC remark that the study found that such measures could in fact significantly reduce the risks of collisions, injuries, and death.
The Motorcycle Crash Risk Study and its Results
The study focused on motorcycle drivers and passengers in the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand and in the area immediately around the city. The study included motorcycle drivers and passengers who died in accidents, were admitted to hospitals, or treated in emergency rooms and who had an injury severity score of 5 or greater with 24 hours of a motorcycle crash. The studied cases involved 490 motorcyclists, including 32 who died, and 1,518 motorcycle driver control subjects. Our Houston motorcycle accident attorneys note that the results of the study, though based in Auckland, could be generally applicable to other urban areas in industrialized nations.
The study found that 66% of the crashes occurred in urban areas with a 50-km/h speed limit, 63% happened during daylight hours, and 72% took place in good weather.
Around 80% of the 1,233 control drivers wore black, brown, or blue (dark) clothing on the upper body and black or blue (dark) clothing on the lower body. Data analysis discovered that motorcycle drivers wearing any reflective or fluorescent clothing had a 37% lower risk of collision, injury, and death. The protective factor of the reflective or fluorescent clothing increased as light conditions decreased, such as at twilight and dusk.
Motorcycle drivers reported the use of 3 main helmet colors: 39.8% black helmets, 30.6% white helmets, and 13.8% red. Those using a white helmet had a 24% lower risk of collision, injury, or death compared to those who wore black helmets. Use of a light colored helmet generally reduced crash risk 19% compared to use of a dark helmet.
About 75% of motorcyclists used their headlamps even during the day. The use of a headlamp during the day correlated with a 27% lower risk of crash injuries.
Our Houston motorcycle accident attorneys mention that the study revealed no observable association between the frontal color and lightness of a driver’s clothing or motorcycle and the crash injury risk.
Conclusions of the Motorcycle Crash Risk Study
The researchers concluded from the data that wearing bright colors during the day, using the headlights during the day, and use of reflective or fluorescent clothing increase a motorcyclist’s visibility or conspicuity by increasing the contrast between the background environment and the surface of the rider or object the color is on. The data surprisingly indicated that use of a bright or light colored helmet strongly reduced crash risk, but that bright or light colors on the front of a biker’s clothing or on the bike itself did not make a significant difference.
The results of the study support the use of both passive and active collision injury prevention strategies such as laws requiring daylight use of headlights and measures like wearing bright or light colored helmets and clothing that encourage higher conspicuity of bikers. Learn more about what to do in the event of a serious motorcycle crash. Click the book icon on this web page to download your free guide from the Houston motorcycle accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC.