You're not wrong.
Only the riders can prove the point Steve..........
Its not ACC trying to prove anything except they LISTENED to the advisors they brought in on MSL
I have been involved in this particular idea since even before MSAC was officially created, told the injury prevention team at ACC that this is the kind of thing we should be supporting with MSL funds.
And lo and behold NZTA had an idea for a project like this on the books! Perfect example project to collaborate on.
Its cheaper to borrow the aussie bike for a trial period than to build one, and as it is an SV 1000 I would say its a perfect machine to test the loop with.
Kiwi wrap has shown us what CAN be done but this will be far more motorcycle specific with cam helmet views, forward and back set camera's, gyroscopic data capture, etc etc
The hard thing is finding a rider that's consistent enough to do the job.....
And no............ that not an invite to volunteer your services![]()
Just ride.
The Kiwirap system does almost exactly the same thing - and is even partially ACC funded.
If you feel that Kiwirap is somehow missing something important in the way they rate the roads with regard to motorcycling it might be better to get them to update the model, so that there is one single voice for parliament to hear, rather than having several smaller competing voices.
From a quick look, the the major changes required would be:
* Consideration given to the roading surface. However I appreciate this is difficult, as it would have to be re-evaluated all the time. Perhaps this is not even practical. The cost of re-checking every road al the time would be huge.
* Rather than use all crash statistics to contribute to the score, brake out the motorcycle crash statistics separately - so you could look at the roading network by vehicle type. I imagine this would involve a bit of computer time, and could be done now.
Did you know the Kiwirap system already has a vehicle fitted out for video like you describe?
http://www.kiwirap.co.nz/collecting_data.html
You could probably save a pile of money by just requesting access to this video - which already exists for the whole of the roading network.
Just to give you a quick recap, this is the info collected by Kiwirap:
And this is the three main targets they have:Road section type (motorway, 4-lane divided, 2-lane undivided, etc)
Lane width
Sealed shoulder
Horizontal alignment*
Terrain*
Delineation
Overtaking provision
Overtaking requirements*
Speed environment*
Offset and severity of roadside hazards
Traffic volume
Does this not sound almost exactly like the same kind of problem motorcylists have?Run-off road crashes (which account for over 50% of all crashes)
Head-on crashes
Crashes at intersections
I encourage you to take one more look at Kiwirap. The Government has already spent a pile of cash on this. It seems a shame to spend another pile of cash collecting information that as already been collected.
Do you really think the NZTA experts, (and I do mean EXPERTS) didn't think of that mate? the national Driving Standards manager is in behind this one.
This is far more than a mere video assessment of the road, the bike has computerized g-force meters, gyroscopes, you name it.
Its going to capture data on camber effects, line of sight issues specific to a motorcyclist (such as visual assessment of the exit line in a corner, is that tree/post/bus shelter poorly placed in the riders LOS) things that from a motorcycling perspective just cannot be measured from the car that they use for Kiwi Wrap
If you think you can assess roads and grade them for motorcycles in a car, think again mate. Do rally drivers take a trail bike over a gravel road to make the course notes they use?
I know of riders who look specifically for roads with a 3 or 4 rating on wrap so they know its a challenge to ride.
However a proper assessment on a proper motorcycle by a rider with proven consistency would be far more beneficial, and allows us to identify real obstacles or potential dangers that a car driver just wont even notice.
The MSAC and NZTA put a lot of effort into this one, we would not do it if we felt there was nothing to be gained.
It is also something MANY riders have already told us would be a great initiative, and we are lucky to have NZTA agree and pick up MOST of the costs from their budgets!
There is a LOT to be gained, and this first ride is a test case anyway to see IF this is worthy of being implemented nationwide.
Just ride.
I imagine all it's going to tell us is that the road is perfectly safe.......
......if it is ridden safely.
As you say, lets give it a trial. I hope that it does produce something that can be used to measure the rest of the country by.
A gyroscope is going to measure how far the motorcycle is leaned over. A g-force sensor is going to measure how much acceleration the riding is applying into a corner. A line of sight measurement is going to be based on the line that the rider chooses through the corner.
The measurements sound like they will be very particular to the rider taking the measurements.
The trick is - do you choose a good rider who wont have a problem, or a rider with little experience who will have a problem?
I'm not confident that the sensors you mention can be used to gain information that suggests a modification to the roading network is required - as opposed to more training for the rider that is collecting the data.![]()
I'm assuming with a borrowed bike this sort of thing has been done over in vic, what were the outcomes of that?
"A shark on whiskey is mighty risky, but a shark on beer is a beer engineer" - Tad Ghostal
All good points Phil but it has made a measurable difference to several black routes (motorcycle specific) in Victoria, so we have been told
Bogan, quite a few roading improvements were identified in Vic and the local authorities responsible for them roads did the work from existing budget.
The only requirement for the rider is consistency and staying at legal speeds of course.
Naturally your never going to exactly match every riding style but this is a good start.
We are actually hoping for less than perfect conditions on the day as well.....
Just ride.
That's all good, but if improvements are to be done to roads in NZ will the same model be applied?
Or will fixing the road come out of the MSL fund instead of the general fund?
I am all for spending the MSL fund to find out all the techy data on the road for
motorcyclists, but not spending the MSL fund to fix the road.
White Trash Pearls of Wisdom #2654 - Refering to yourself in the 3rd person: The only thing gayer, would be being caught handcuffed around a public toilet bowl, an apple stuffed in your mouth and George Michael administering an epic caneing to your exposed cheeks while Boy George documents the event on a handicam.
Fixing the road will not come from MSL funds mate. Thats to be paid for from the existing budgets with the proper regional authority
However identifying where some fixes would be beneficial to us (eg removal of roadside hazards [dont start on WRB's grr] LOS improvements etc) is the sort of thing we can research, prove or identify with projects like this.
The Vic fund they raise from bikes is huge compared to ours, we would never be able to directly fund the engineering initiatives they have been able to.
Just ride.
So basically its coroloop on the tax payer?
Sweet gig!
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