Will Anti-Lock Brakes Contribute to Lower Fatality Rates Among Motorcyclists?

While the addition of anti-lock brakes has become quite common to passenger vehicles and light and large trucks, with 89 percent of all new cars and 99 percent of light trucks sold in the United States equipped with them, the technology has only recently been installed in motorcycles. In situations where roads are wet and slippery or when a driver must stop suddenly, anti-lock brakes prevent the wheels from locking up, thereby allowing the driver to avoid a crash. Research has indicated that motorcyclists who have such equipment are less likely to suffer fatal and personal injury crashes like one that recently occurred in Yuba City, California, explains a California personal injury lawyer. However, many riders may opt not to purchase this added safety feature, diminishing the impact on the fatality rate of motorcyclists.

Over the years, the incidence of fatal motorcycle accidents has steadily climbed in California and throughout the nation, finally declining in 2009. From 1997 to 2009, the number of deaths among riders involved in crashes more than doubled, reaching the highest level since the federal government began recording crash data in 1975 before falling by 16 percent in 2009, from 5,112 to 4,281, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In the state, motorcycle fatalities decreased by 29.6 percent, from 560 in 2008 to 394 in 2009, the first decline since 1998, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.

When a motorcycle’s wheels lock up in an abrupt stop, it can result in a loss of balance and potentially a deadly fall, as may have been the case recently in Yuba City. Last January, 22-year-old Devon Chase Marohn was riding north on Highway 99 when for unknown reasons his brakes locked up and he was ejected from the motorcycle. The California Highway Patrol believed that he might have subsequently been run over, reported The Sacramento Bee.

Braking on a motorcycle is more complicated than doing so in a car, as most bikes have separate brake controls for the front and the rear wheels, either of which can seize during a sudden and hard application of the brake. Continuously measuring the speed of the wheels, an anti-lock brake system pulses the brake pressure when it detects that one or both of the wheels is going to stop rotating. According to IIHS, motorcycles equipped with such systems have a 37 percent lower rate of being involved in fatal crashes than models that lack them.

Although anti-lock brakes have the potential to reduce the fatality rate among motorcyclists, the price is a deterrent for many riders. A representative for Harley-Davidson Motor Company told The Wall Street Journal last June that many customers choose not to purchase the equipment. Moreover, ABS tends to only be standard in more expensive models. Unless the federal government mandates that all bikes come with ABS, its potential to prevent fatal and personal injury accidents like the one that occurred in Yuba City, California may not be fully realized, explains a California personal injury lawyer.