RIDE VISION – REVIEW

SYSTEM REVIEW

As a professional Motorcycle Instructor and Accredited Rider Trainer for Qride licencing, I am constantly looking for new ways to improve safety for motorbike riders on our roads. As fuel prices increase the demand for motorbike licences in Australia is on the rise.

Whilst the Police and Government constantly increase fines and scare tactics these are not always the best measures to improve safety. Having come from an extensive aviation background the best proven method for improving safety is to increase training and the use of automation in this digital world.

I was asked by the Director of Ride Vision Australia – Steven Munitz to review one of the latest motorcycle safety products to hit the Australian market. Whilst the system is new to Australia the technology has been around for a very long time but predominantly in the vehicle market. Ride Vision has now introduced this technology into the motorbike market.

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

The system includes forward and rear mounted constant recording cameras, GPS location, Speed sensors, Blind spot detection and also forward crash avoidance space detection systems. Whilst this system does not remove the requirement for the rider to check blind spots and conduct head checks, it provides an additional level of safety to greatly reduce the risk of any sideswipe collision, rear end collision and also risk of being hit from behind.

As we all know the roads are getting busier and busier and we would all have numerous accounts that we could recall of nearly being hit whilst on the roads. This system reduces our odds significantly.

INSTALLATION

The system can be self-installed or installed by an auto electrician and can be done so in a few hours with correct tools and following the installation procedure. The hardest part of the installation is finding suitable locations for the hardware that do not interfere with normal operation but also do not take away from the aesthetics of our beloved machines.

Once installed and calibrated the system will automatically power up one the motorbike is started and begins forward motion. The cameras constantly record forward and behind and can be downloaded afterwards giving you piece of mind if a collision ever happened. This downloaded data not only shows the footage but also the location, speed and any alerts during that ride.

The alert system which is mounted on each mirror will actively alert the rider of any vehicle present in our blind spots giving us vital warning if we missed with a head check. The forward collision avoidance system will alert if you are approaching a vehicle or solid object with ahigher rate of closure or following a vehicle too closely.

The system can be adjusted and calibrated to suit to your skill level and desired potential impact settings as well as the lighting functions allow brightness control for various levels of riding between day, night and twilight.

GENERAL COMMENTS

I have now been actively using the Ride Vision System during motorcycle licence road riding assessments and have found it to be extremely accurate and most beneficial in heavy and congested traffic for any crash avoidance from a 360-degree perspective. Whilst this doesn’t alleviate our need to look and check before moving in our lane or changing lanes or to ever reduce our crash avoidance space it does something we cannot do – Its looking everywhere all the time.

My only small negative about the system is that the warning light system clips and sticks to your existing mirrors which does leave some visible trace of wiring on the back of your mirrors and stems. However, Ride Vision Australia have also just advised that they are producing new replacement mirrors which have the alert system inbuilt and removes any visible signs of wiring. This will be a great improvement for aesthetic reasons and should be available in very near future.

All up I believe the Ride Vision is a way of the future much like ABS and traction control are now standard inclusions on most motorcycles.