The motorcycle season is starting up again and Road Safety and all the players in the motorcycle world are working together to improve the safety of 2 or 3-wheeler users.
In concrete terms?
It is worth keeping in mind that 2% of traffic generates 25% of road deaths, that 75% of motorcyclists are injured in the abdomen, thorax or spine, sometimes with irreversible consequences.
The lack of protective equipment (helmet, gloves, boots, airbag systems…) is an aggravating factor, even at low speeds.
The motorcycle airbag enables effective protection of the vital organs and minimises injuries in the event of an accident.
Who? What goals?
After some 10 months of preparation, this Tuesday 2 April 2019, Sécurité Routière, French Road Safety, signed with 9 professional organisations specialised in road safety education and motorised two-wheeled vehicles a partnership agreement aiming to protect the lives of their users by encouraging the acquisition and wearing of motorcycle airbags.
Here is the list of these organizations. Nova Moto is member of GPAM since the very beginning, and could participate to these very interesting preparation meetings, first organised by Mr Pascal Dunikovski, 2WD French National Officer at the Delegation for Road Safety, then focussed on airbag thematic only, and organized by Mr Philippe Vassard, Head of GPAM.
A great opportunity to meet key professionals in all the below mentioned professional organizations (safety, insurances, driving schools, 2WD manufacturers, 2WD retail & workshops, rider equipment manufacturers, distributors, and of course airbag system manufacturers, distributors). Each meeting was a moment of constructive and still kind interaction with market players and direct competitors.
How?
The Partnership Agreement stated above expresses a real intention to build together a strategy to promote motorcycle airbags throughout the sector, as the list of signatories above clearly shows. The signature by ALL the members is a strong sign.
And for the time now, as Mr Emmanuel Barbe, Inter-ministerial Representative for Road Safety, has reminded us on several times, there is no intention to make motorcycle airbags mandatory.
2nd Motorcycle Airbag Promotion campaign
After the success of the promotional campaign at the end of 2018, this signature is an opportunity for French Road Safety (Sécurité Routière) to present its new communication campaign promoting the using of the motorcycle airbag system, the only reliable and effective protection for, together, abdomen, thorax and spine, where 75% of motorcyclists’ injuries are concentrated in the case of an accident.
From 2nd of April on, the campaign will be launched by :
– press visual
– film for digital communication
– 100,000 flyers for the general public distributed in Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Paris
– Distribution of flyers in Le Mans, during the French MotoGP race May 17 to 19, 2019.
The airbag is the only reliable protection to effectively protect the upper body. The effect of the motorcycle airbag can also have a psychological dimension: awareness of the risk and more respect for other users and traffic rules, which of course differs from one individual to another.
The motorcycle airbags inflate in no time at all (0.080 seconds for Motoairbag) a volume of air (up to 25 litres for Motoairbag V2.0C) and remain inflated for a minimum period of time (30 seconds for Motoairbag) to protect first against falling, and then against a possible obstacle (rail, tree, city pavement).
Text: Isabelle Maillet (figures from Sécurité Routière, French Road Safety, press release)
Pictures/illustrations: Sécurité Routière (Road Safety)
