Tuesday, June 25, 2013

NHTSA Petitioned To Mandate Antilock Braking System On All New Motorcycles

OFF THE WIRE
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) maintain this step would significantly reduce crashes and deaths.
They petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require new motorcycles to be equipped with antilock braking systems because they maintain this step would significantly reduce crashes and deaths.
Motorcycles with ABS are 31 percent less likely to be involved in fatal crashes than those same motorcycles without ABS, an IIHS analysis indicates, and a new study from HLDI found a 20 percent reduction in the rate of collision claims with ABS.
HLDI analysts concluded even greater gains result from ABS in conjunction with combined braking systems, which integrate a motorcycle’s front and rear brake controls. Together, they cut collision claim frequency by about one third.
“The data continue to accumulate in support of motorcycle ABS five years after we first reported on its effectiveness,” said Adrian Lund, president of both IIHS and HLDI. “We hope NHTSA will agree that it’s time to take action to ensure all riders get the benefit of this lifesaving technology.”