From the left, Jean-Pierre Moreau, FIM Europe Public Affairs Chairman, Dries Hop, Dutch Police National Academy, and Silvio Manicardi, FIM Europe 2nd Deputy President
FIM Europe has been sharing the importance of road safety since its foundation. Nowadays there are 37 millions motorcyclists in Europe and they are also among the most vulnerable road users.
Over 28.100 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2012 in 27 Member States and there were around 1,4 million people injured in the same year. Traffic collisions are the main cause of death for people under 45 years of age.
In 2009 they have cost € 130 billion/year to society. On average one out of 3 inhabitants of EU will be hospitalised during his life because of a traffic accident.
Of all road fatalities, almost 50% are car occupants and around 15% are motorcyclists – and 3% moped riders, although there are around 25 cars to every motorcycle registered in the EU.
Chances of getting hurt in an accident for two-wheelers are therefore higher than for most road users, and consequences for riders are usually more serious.
This is why one of the main aims of FIM Europe is to involve National Federations in the activities which are linked to road users and Road Safety in particular.
Since 2007 the yearly event of Road Safety Conference has been launched: it happens during the annual FIM Europe Congress, where the 47 European Federations are present.
FIM Europe is now organising the ninth edition of Road Safety Conference, which, as its main aim, will deal with the development of electronics to increase usability and safety both on track and on road.
FIM Europe, in fact, has a privileged observation point, as for its institutional role FIM Europe is acting in all matters in relation with motorcycling activities and, as such, in domains ranging from sport, tourism, mobility, road safety, protection and defence of the rights and interests of motorcycle users. All this helps FIM Europe to help exchange experience among different “actors”.
So in its first event, in Cyprus, in 2007, the Road Safety Conference dealt with “Specific problems on road safety” in Mediterranean Area and, more generally, in Europe, facing also the topic of “Industry responses and initiatives”, with the intervention of ACEM, the Motorcycle Industry in Europe. In the second edition of the Road Safety Conference, in Riga, the attention was already on man, with interventions about “Early Hazard Perception Course” (from Royal Dutch Motorcyclist Association).
In the third edition Jean-Pierre Moreau, Chairman of FIM Europe Public Affairs Commission, outlined the importance of opening the door of circuits to motorcycle road users, in order to give them secure spaces and propose to them an alternative solution to road repression, but also to know better the limits of their riding, to measure their reactions and to take advantage of advice of qualified instructors.
Among the most interesting subjects the Road Safety Conference dealt with, there is also “Traumatic injuries after road accidents”, by Prof. Moreschini, of the University of Rome, in 2011.
In the latest edition, during 2014 FIM Europe Congress in Cracow, one of the main topics was represented by airbag for motorcyclists, where the connection between technologies developed for road safety and for sporting motor sports was very strong. In the end, Mr Jarno Zaffelli, Dromo Circuit Designer, also explained the safety and risk analysis system he developed: DroCAS, which deals with Run Off dimensioning and risk assessment for motorsports and is also used to turn incident experience in an objective tool to assess risks inside and outside racetracks.
«EU had set itself the goal of reducing in ten years by 50% road deaths, which in 2001 were 54,000. The goal was almost reached, because in 2010 the traffic fatalities were 31,000, which represent anyway the loss of habitants ofa medium-sized city in Europe. », FIM Europe second Deputy President Silvio Manicardi said. «Unfortunately the fatal accidents among motorcyclists fell in a lower percentage, by about 30%, so the world of two wheelers must put more energy to achieve the objective.
«Now UE aims to reduce, over the next 10 years, again by 50% this figure and the FIM Europe will do all possible actions, also through the National Federations associated, to help achieve this important target».
Further information regarding the different presentations at the Road Safety Conferences can be downloaded at
http://fim-europe.com/index.php/social/public-affairs/road-safety
