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In order to establish a systematic approach to the study on the injuries sustained by motorcycle riders in accidents and the assessment of protective devices fitted to motorcycles, this research develops a computer simulation model of motorcycle-to-vehicle collision model based on multibody kinematics and dynamics using MADYMO (MAthematical DYnamic MOdel). The effectiveness of the motorcycle-to-vehicle crash model is verified using data of 14 full-scale tests. Comparisons between the simulation peak head acceleration results and the full-scale crash tests data demonstrate a satisfactory agreement between them. The simulation results along with the test data indicate that the leg protectors fitted to the motorcycle can induce harmful consequences to the rider head in some configurations, regardless of their aimed protective effects on the rider’s legs. The findings obtained in this study also provide basis for further improvement of the current model.

This paper describes the risk of injury to the rider in a crash using a statistical model based on real-world accident data. We analyzed the road traffic accidents data in Los Angeles and Hanover. Logistic regression modeling technique was used to clarify the relationship among probabilities of minor, serious, fatal injury risk to the rider, and the influence of risk factors in accidents involving opposing vehicle contact point, motorcycle contact point, opposing vehicle speed, motorcycle speed, relative heading angle of impact, and helmet use. The odds ratio, which was adjusted for risk factors simultaneously, was estimated by using the developed technique, and was compared with the effects of risk factors individually. The results showed that there was a statistically significant relationship between minor and serious injuries and opposing vehicle speed, motorcycle speed and opposing vehicle contact point.