Curves are a common location for motorcycle crashes. While roadside safety zones and MPS on barriers can help reduce the severity of crashes, guidance and warning for motorcyclists can reduce the likelihood of crashes occurring.

9.1 HAZARD MARKING POSTS AND LINE MARKING
Motorcycle riders are often taught as part of post license training about the vanishing point where the horizon and tangent of a bend meet. If the vanishing point appears to be moving away the approaching bend is opening, if it is steady then the bend is likely to be constant and if moving towards the rider the bend is tightening. If a roadside object interrupts the vanishing point, then motorcyclists may turn towards that object, which can result in a loss of control collision. Thus, motorcycle trainees are often taught the “Where You Look Is Where You Go – principle” to reduce this risk. The addition of soft pollards as marker posts some distance before, through and beyond a treated bend (see chapter 10.3) can also be used to draw the focus of motorcyclists to the vanishing point of the bend and prevent distraction by roadside objects (22).

9.2 ROAD MARKING IN CURVES
Inconsistency in line marking or guideposts can make it difficult for motorcyclists to anticipate and react to changing road geometry and conditions. Good delineation provides the rider with information about the road environment. The inherent instability of a motorcycle means that information about the road can be critical in judging speed and direction (33).

The two most common types of motorbike crashes are “falling off the vehicle” and “leaving the road to the right in a left-hand bend”. It has been shown that cornering often is the starting point for such crashes. In an Austrian study (126), 5 out of 6 motorcyclists drove so far to the left that they would have had to correct their trajectory in case of oncoming traffic. In most cases, motorcyclists manage to avoid oncoming traffic, but the second necessary correction of the trajectory fails due to “lean angle anxiety”.

In 2017, new road markings were added to eight popular motorbike routes in Austria, predominantly on blind left-hand bends and in the form of bars or ellipses. This measure was successful in encouraging motorcyclists to avoid driving over the road markings. The riders’ trajectories significantly changed towards a safer lateral position in the outside part of their lane. Since then, more bends have been equipped with markings in Austria, in Luxembourg, in Slovenia and Germany. During the summer of 2019, 19 bends were equipped with road markings as one of the activities of a motorbike safety program of the Tyrolean regional government with immediate impact as the main goal.
On average, there were 13 injuries and 0.6 deaths annually during a seven-year (before) period on these bends. In the 2.5-year after-period, 4 injuries were registered. After accounting for the massive impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on exposure (approx. 10% less commuter traffic, 40% less leisure riding), an 80% decrease in injuries was observed, and there were no more fatalities on the bends with road markings. The application of road markings is also extremely cost-effective, especially compared to the cost of crashes: to tape a bend with film, one usually gets by with material worth less than 1,000 euros, and the use of paint material is even cheaper.

9.3 WARNING SIGNS

Motorcyclists are generally aware of warning signs that provide information about a change in the road environment. If warning signs are inconsistent or missing riders may be surprised by hazards which increases the risk of a crash.

On the other hand, excessive road signage can distract or confuse a motorcyclist and is also a potential strike hazard for an errant rider. Another problem is warning signs that are left year after year without any purpose.

The Austrian study about road markings (chapter 10.2) found that motorcyclists do not take general danger signs seriously. Ordinary danger signs and regulations often had no effect. In contrast, the road markings studied clearly communicate that their message is aimed at motorcyclists, and this may even be the reason for their effectiveness. It was obvious that a motorcyclist-specific message should be conveyed, for example a sign that clearly shows the radius of the curve. By adding a pictogram of a motorbike to other traffic signs, this aim could also be achieved using other signs (126).

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS GUIDANCE
Treatment Options:

• Ensure consistency of line marking, especially along popular motorcycle routes.
• Introduce new road markings in blind left-hand bends and in the form of bars or ellipses.
• Road safety audits to check for missing or misleading signage and for sign consistency.
• Use special motorcycle high risk warnings signs for hazards that are a particular issue for motorcyclists.
• Remove superfluous signs and consolidate the signs in use to reduce the injury risk for motorcyclists and validate the sign for all road users.
• Increase the use of soft roadside furniture and hazard marking posts.
• Use motorcycle route-based signage for high-risk routes.
• Trim vegetation where visibility is impaired.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2. MOTORCYCLE SAFETY IN FIGURES
CHAPTER 3. GLOBAL, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL GUIDELINES ON MOTORCYCLE SAFETY
CHAPTER 4. WHERE DO MOST INCIDENTS AND CRASHES OCCUR?
CHAPTER 5. ADDRESSING MOTORCYCLE SAFETY
CHAPTER 6. ROAD SURFACE FRICTION
CHAPTER 7. THE NEED FOR ROADSIDE SAFETY ZONES
CHAPTER 8. BARRIERS AND MOTORCYCLISTS
CHAPTER 9. GUIDANCE BEFORE CURVES
CHAPTER 10. RECOMMENDATIONS
APPENDIXES
REFERENCES
TERMINOLOGY AND ACRONYMS
WORKING GROUP INFORMATION

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