Seminar targets motorcycle safety

Motorcyclists represent an increasing proportion of road users killed (17 per cent) and seriously injured (23 per cent) in Australian road crashes.

An upcoming seminar organised by the Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) will bring experts together to raise questions and identify topics for research and development for the advancement of motorcycle safety.

Shaun Lennard, Chairman of the Australian Motorcycle Council, and Dr Trevor Allen, from Monash University’s Accident Research Centre, will be among the five speakers.

The seminar is timely, given that a new riding gear protection rating system is likely to be unveiled in Australia in the next few weeks.

The event will be chaired by Dr Liz de Rome, Senior Research Fellow in Motorcycle Safety at IFM, who is well known in the motorcycle community for her research on protective materials in motorcycle clothing.

Dr de Rome noted that technological developments have reduced the risk and severity of car crashes, but there have been few corresponding improvements to the safety of motorcyclists.

“The rapid expansion of motorcycle fleets worldwide, particularly in low and middle income countries, has led motorcycle safety to become a global injury risk priority,” she said.

The workshop will take a broad view of the causes of motorcycle crashes and crash injuries; to explore the potential for new approaches and technologies to play a role in reducing the risk and severity of injuries; and investigate improvements for treatment and post-crash rehabilitation.

Program

Welcome: Professor Xungai Wang, Director, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University

1. Shaun Lennard, Chairman, Australian Motorcycle Council: – Unanswered questions – the riders’ perspectives
2. Dr Trevor Allen, Monash University Accident Research Centre: – Factors associated with human error in motorcycle crashes
3. David Milling, Australian Road Research Board: - Infrastructure improvements to reduce motorcycle crash risk
4. Professor Richard Page, Deakin School of Medicine: – Prevalence and type of injuries sustained in motorcycle crashes
5. James V. Ouellet, Motorcycle Accident Analysis (USA): – Motorcycle crash investigation and injury mechanics.

Registration

Registration is essential as places are limited. Register: liz.derome@deakin.edu.au by Friday 20 October. Please contact Dr Liz de Rome for further information.

Event details:

Date: Friday 27th October, 2017.
Time: 9.00 -12.30.
Venue: Room NA1.416/1.417, Building NA, Waurn Ponds Campus, Deakin University.