Emergency Braking Patterns of Trained and Untrained Riders

Abstract

The complexity of motorcycle braking systems remains in the different applications of brakes using both hands and legs. In comparison to passenger vehicle systems that use brake pedals to slow down, motorcycles usually have independent front and rear braking. Furthermore, motorcycles have a high center of mass with a short wheelbase. This may result in loss of control during harsh braking. Thus, the motorcyclist's braking technique is important in producing safe braking. The objective of this project is to understand the difference between the braking technique of people who have attended defensive riding training (trained) with those people who did not attend (untrained). Both trained and untrained riders used higher rear braking force than front braking force at all test speeds. The trained riders improved the front braking force by 26.8% and reduced the rear braking force by 18.2% when the test speed changed from 30 km/h to 50 km/h. Thus, the deceleration produced by trained riders linearly increased with the increment of speed. On the other hand, untrained riders improved front and rear braking force by 15.6% and 3.4% respectively from 30 km/h to 40km/h. No change in braking force was found when the speed increased from 40 to 50 km/h, thus producing similar deceleration at both speeds respectively. This may increase the risk to the rider because, at higher speeds, the motorcycle produces a higher braking distance and time if a similar force is applied. Further analysis shows that trained riders used deceleration in the range of 0.40-0.49 at the speed of 30 km/h, and adjusted the motorcycle deceleration to 0.60-0.69 at the test speed of 40 and 50 km/h. Nevertheless, the untrained riders produced deceleration in the range of 0.5-0.59 in all test speeds.