Wednesday 4th August 2004

Killer Pillars

Thick A pillars could cost bikers lives

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An article published today in the September issue of BIKE magazine has shown that windscreen pillars obstructing a driver’s vision are likely to be a major factor in road accidents.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign, has joined forces with the editorial team of Britain’s best selling motorcycling monthly magazine to highlight this serious, but largely unrecognised safety problem.

Paul commented, "This problem came to my attention way back in the early 80s. I was driving a car in London, turning right from a side road into a one way system. As I started to turn a motorbike literally appeared from nowhere. I managed to stop, but was intrigued and drove around the block again….it was instantly obvious that motorbikes were being completely obscured from view by my nearside windscreen pillar".

Rich Beach, News Editor of Bike magazine commented, "When Paul Smith raised the screen pillar issue with us, we were astonished by how little research has been done on the subject, but in the course of investigating and writing the Bike magazine feature, it became clear that it is a huge problem, and one that we need to draw attention to.

The research we have accessed indicates that a huge number of motorcycle accidents (almost 70%) involve a car, truck or bus, and that over 70% of these accidents were caused by "perception error" – all too often bikes are just not being seen".

The last official research in the UK into obstruction by windscreen pillars was carried out over 40 years ago in 1963. More recently, the Department of Transport studied "look but failed to see" (LBFtS) accidents, LBFtS being a contributory factor in 20% of all road accidents, however the possibility of windscreen pillar obscuration wasn’t even considered.

Adam Duckworth, publisher of Bike feels that this is a massive safety problem, that has simply been overlooked. "Passenger protection is a obviously a priority for car manufacturers, but having looked at all the facts, we believe that accidents could be avoided in the first place if windscreen pillars were designed to allow optimum vision.

[degz]

Any research which will convince a driver to look for or think about the possibility of a bike close bye is a must. Even with head lamp on and sitting in a good position to be seen, I have had drivers change course, no signal, no mirror check.

[MEMSDesign]

Very good idea - start campaigning on road safety issues other than speeding. Will give Paul Smith more credibility and kills the argument that people who think the current situation is wrong don't really care about road safety.