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Ghost Bike motorcycle statue for awareness

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by Dan Soul from https://www.mylloydminsternow.com Ghost bike stands again as reminder of motorcycle safety, tribute to fallen riders The Lloydminster Sport Riders are putting up a ghost bike for another year, to serve as an important reminder for drivers and motorcyclists to share the road and keep each other safe. The motorcycle statue was first put up last year, not only as a reminder to be road aware of bikes but as a sobering reminder of and a way to honour fallen riders as well. With this month marking Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in Alberta, it will stand at the 59 Avenue-25 Street intersection. The administrator of the LSR, Philip Cummine, says the bike’s key message is being cognizant of the riders people share the road with. ” We want to make sure everyone gets home safe. So we want to help bring the awareness to make sure that people realize that there are motorcycles out there, and a lot of motorcyclists are putting their life on the line when they get out on the road because, for them, a simple accident can be life-threatening.” Riders are out on the road much more in the summer, and both they and drivers can take steps to be protected. For people on their bikes, this means wearing protective gear, making a plan for their ride, and not going out alone so that someone is there to help. Drivers should keep an eye out for riders, be extra diligent in checking blind spots and mirrors, and slow it down when coming up on someone on a motorcycle. Lloydminster RCMP Sargeant Brad Mouland says every year they respond to accidents between motorcycles and cars and they want people on both sides to be aware. “Within Lloydminster, unfortunately, we have seen injury-related collisions and fatalities. […]

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Britain insurance companies on self-driving vehicles

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by Nick Carey, Paul Lienert and Tina Bellon of Reuters from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com Britain’s driverless car ambitions hit speed bump with insurers Insurers are key players in the shift to automated driving, with some investing in a technology they believe will slash accidents and deaths, and save them billions in payouts. But they are worried drivers might equate today’s lower levels of automation with fully self-driving vehicles, potentially causing more accidents in the short term and permanently damaging public confidence in the technology. Britain’s goal to be a leader in adopting self-driving cars could backfire unless automakers and government regulators spell out the current limitations of the technology, insurance companies warn. “What you describe things as is incredibly important, so people don’t use them inappropriately,” said David Williams, managing director of underwriting at AXA Insurance, whose parent AXA SA made 17 billion euros in revenues from property and casualty insurance, including motor insurance, in 2020. “I genuinely believe the world will be a safer place with autonomous vehicles and I really don’t want that derailed.” In what would be a world first, Britain is considering regulating the use of Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) on its roads, possibly even on motorways at speeds of up to 70 miles (113 km) per hour. It is also deciding whether to describe them to the general public as “automated” systems. It is that one word – automated – that has stirred controversy and put the country at the centre of a global debate about self-driving terminology at a sensitive moment in its evolution. The technology is evolving rapidly and there is no consensus on how to deploy it or what to call some features. Regulations in the Americas, Europe and Asia lag far behind technical developments and issues over accident liability are unresolved. ALKS

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Ride Vision raises $7 million for AI that alerts motorcycle riders to collision threats

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by Kyle Wiggers from https://venturebeat.com Ride Vision, a startup developing “collision aversion” technology for motorcycles, today emerged from stealth with a $7 million round led by investment platform OurCrowd. Ride Vision also unveiled an AI-driven safety alert system called Ride Vision 1 that will go on sale in several European countries in early 2021. A spokesperson said the fresh capital will be used for marketing, distribution, and R&D as the company looks to expand its 20-person team. There are more than 700 million motorcycles on the road globally, according to estimates. And motorcycles currently account for 28% of all fatal road accidents, resulting in the death of roughly 378,000 people a year. That number could tick upward soon, as motorcycle sales have skyrocketed during the pandemic. The company’s Ride Vision 1 package will feature cameras and LEDs designed to alert riders to dangerous situations. Two small wide-angle cameras mounted on the rear and front of motorcycles or scooters transmit footage to an onboard processing unit running an algorithm that detects and notifies riders of collision threats in real time via mirror-mounted LEDs. A mobile app delivers customizable alerts (including at night); records up to two-hour continuous-loop videos; and keeps note of stats like speed, lean angle, distance, location, and time. Ride Vision says it can detect forward collision, blind spot, and distance keeping threats from cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and scooters. New alerts for rear collision, forward-left, and forward-right collision threats are scheduled to arrive post-launch. “Ride Vision has built a unique dataset particular to two-wheelers that’s used to train models taking into account different bikes, level of biking experience, locality, different environmental conditions, and synthetic use cases,” a spokesperson told VentureBeat via email. “Ride Vision has the ability to improve upon the skill set of riders should the riders

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84 arrests, 226 citations and 18 crashes reported in 24 hours at massive motorcycle rally in South Dakota

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by Caitlin O’Kane from https://www.cbsnews.com South Dakota authorities on Sunday reported the first haul of crashes, arrests and citations from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the western part of the state. The annual rally started on Friday, drawing thousands of maskless riders to the streets and bars of Sturgis. While organizers have said they expect fewer visitors than in other years, the Argus Leader reports the number of arrests and citations have increased from last year. The Department of Public Safety reported that police made 84 arrests for driving under the influence or drug-related offenses during a 24-hour period spanning from Saturday into Sunday morning. That’s up from last year, when 76 people had been arrested in a similar time frame. Police have also issued more citations, with 226 people getting tickets. The figure is 37 more than last year. But it appears police are less lenient this year and are letting fewer people off with warnings. So far, police in the region have reported 18 crashes, which is down from last year’s mark of 20. None have been fatal. Shrugging off the five million coronavirus cases now tallied in the U.S., thousands of motorcyclists converged this weekend in Sturgis for what is billed as the biggest cycle gathering in the world. “I’ve been here since the beginning of July,” one person in Sturgis told CBS News. “People are tired of being at home, you know. This is what this rally started about is freedom.” In June, city officials decided in an eight to one vote to go ahead with the rally, CBS affiliate KELO reports. In an email to CBS News, the City of Sturgis Public Information Officer Christina Steele said the “decision to hold the Rally came after hearing from thousands of attendees that they were coming to

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$25-m motorcycle simulation centre for Westmoreland

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GRANGE HILL, Westmoreland — Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang says the Government is constructing a motorcycle simulation centre in Westmoreland at a cost of $25 million. The facility is expected to begin accepting students by the end of next month and each batch of students will receive training for three months. On successful completion of the programme, which is aimed at saving lives, each participant will be given a certificate, driver’s licence and helmet. Dr Chang said bikers are eager to get into the programme, but he was unable to provide details on the numbers expected to be enrolled. “They are dying, that is the reality. They are crashing every day, so, anything to improve their skill set [will be good]. You are talking about improving their riding skills, getting them to know the road code and at the same time, teaching them some skills on how to maintain the bikes. And we will give them helmets to begin to introduce some behavioural changes that will hopefully be maintained long term,” he explained. “Most of the guys who don’t wear helmets, they ride without shoes. They ride almost [in] T-shirts and shorts. So when they crash, the chances of them surviving are very, very low, and when they survive, they are physically challenged for the rest of their lives,” added the minister, who is also a medical doctor. The bike riders’ vocational training facility, which is currently being constructed on the grounds of Petersfield Vocational Training Centre in the parish, will offer first class training in the driving of motor bikes, as well as classes on their care and maintenance. According to Dr Chang, the programme forms part of the Government’s offering to divert young men from a life of crime. It is similar to an articulated truck

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As Utah motorcycle deaths rise, cycle groups call for better ban on drivers using hand-held cellphones

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by Lee Davidson from https://www.sltrib.com/ Motorcycle groups revved up a call Thursday for something they say might have saved several of the record 48 riders who died on Utah highways last year: a better ban on the use of hand-held cellphones while driving. “Every time I ride my motorcycle, I always have to worry that there’s people right next to me, or in front or behind me, that are texting” or talking on cellphones, said Elvecia Ramos, founder of The Riderz Foundation, at a state Capitol news conference. “It drives me crazy.” She’s not alone. “We’re getting hit by people who are on their phones. We’re all getting hit by left-hand turns” by drivers without peripheral vision because their phones block it, said Annette Ault, Utah chapter president of American Bikers Aiming Toward Education. “And we don’t have any protection,” said Terry Marasco, legislative and policy analyst for The Riderz Foundation. 8“We don’t have any air bags. We don’t have any seat belts.” “And we don’t have any metal around us,” Ault added. So they are calling for passage of HB101 by Rep. Carol Moss, D-Holladay, to create a better ban. Hand-held use of cellphones while driving has technically been illegal in Utah since 2007. But it can only be enforced if another moving traffic violation is committed at the same time, such as speeding. So few tickets are ever written. It also complicates the enforcement of laws that have banned texting while driving since 2009. Police report that when they pull over people they see texting, they often claim to have been merely dialing a phone number — complicating whether they may issue a ticket if they committed no other moving violation. Moss has tried — and failed — for years to allow direct citations for talking-on-the-phone violations. Republican

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