Bosch prepares for mandatory ABS for motorcycles in Europe

311 Bosch has announced the development of an independent series of ABS specifically designed for motorcycles. Mandatory ABS for motorcycles is part of the presented EU commission draft framework regulation for motorcycles and is intended to apply to motorcycles with more than 125 cc displacement. The proposal is currently passing through the EU legislative procedure, and will likely be adopted next year, with the regulation scheduled to come into effect for from 2017.

In 2008, the number of motorcyclists involved in fatal accidents in the 1816 European Union was 5,520 – 14 per cent of all road deaths. This figure has scarcely changed since 1997, yet the number of fatal accidents involving car drivers fell significantly during the same period – by 49 per cent, according to an analysis of 17 European countries

The 3535 European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) says the risk of suffering a fatal accident is 18 times greater for motorcyclists than for car drivers in Europe, assuming that the same distance is travelled. And although the first antilock braking system to be installed on a motorcycle dates back to 1988, just 16 per cent of all newly manufactured motorcycles in Europe are equipped with this safety system. In passenger cars, by contrast, a self commitment on the part of vehicle manufacturers made ABS standard equipment in 2004.

ABS technology developed for passenger cars has traditionally been used as the basis for motorcycle ABS systems. Now, the experts at the Bosch engineering centre in Japan have, for the first time, designed a series specifically for motorcycles. With greatly reduced volume and weighing just 0.7 kilograms, the entry-level product ABS 9 base is half the size and weight of its predecessor. Germany’s largest automobile association, ADAC, has recognised this new system by presenting its Award “Gelber Engel” (yellow angel) in the category innovation and environment.

Experts regard the antilock braking system as a huge boost to safety. For example, a benefit analysis conducted for the 1690 European Commission claims that the proposed regulation will allow the number of fatal accidents among motorcyclists to be reduced by more than 5,000 over a ten-year period. A study presented by Vägverket, the Swedish highways authority, in October 2009 claims that 38 per cent of all motorcycle accidents involving personal injury and 48 per cent of all serious and fatal accidents could be prevented with the help of ABS. This active safety system allows motorcyclists to brake safely in critical situations without locking the wheels, and thus without having to fear an inevitable fall. Braking distance is also said to be reduced considerably.