AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN THE CROSSHAIRS

BY KALI KOTOSKI

Automotive manufacturers have been charging ahead with autonomous vehicle (AV) technology and active driver assist systems of late, as Twittersavvy tech CEOs make grand pronouncements to consumers and shareholders that cars with self-driving features are not just an unavoidable eventuality, but safer than regular vehicles and will lower accidents and fatalities on the road.

But with headlines popping up on a near weekly basis of crashes involving cars utilizing some form of AV technology, there are legitimate concerns regarding a) the seriousness of federal oversight and b) if the technology is advanced enough to be safely used in real-world driving scenarios.

The American Motorcyclist Association has raised the alarm about AV technology for years, criticizing federal authorities for lack of regulation and urging them to impose a regulatory framework for the technology’s application and development. The AMA also emphasizes the necessity of including motorcycles in manufacturers’ testing and data-gathering methods.

Additionally, the AMA cautions against beta testing the many forms of AV technology currently being deployed on America’s roads despite a lack of safety data or regulation. The AMA is hardly alone with these concerns, as insurance companies and safety advocates call for greater federal oversight.

“After more than four years since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published its first federal automated vehicle policy, we are disappointed the agency has yet to propose any specific guidance or regulation that would establish even the fundamental goals for Automated Driver System (ADS) Safety,” wrote AMA Government Relations Manager Tiffany Cipoletti in a February comment to NHTSA. “NHTSA promotes the notion that ADS technology for human drivers will lead to fewer injuries and deaths from motor vehicle crashes. […] We urge NHTSA to develop specific proposals to ensure that ADS fulfills its safety promise and to ensure that motorcyclists and all other road users benefit from being correctly detected and responded to in all traffic conditions.”

Now, it appears that the federal government is taking some action, even if it is long overdue and unfortunately stems directly from crashes and injuries.

In August, NHTSA announced that it has opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot system used in hundreds of thousands of the company’s electric vehicles — although Tesla is not alone in the development of this technology as other American manufacturers race to catch up.

The NHTSA investigation was precipitated by at least 11 accidents involving Teslas that struck parked fire trucks, police cars and other emergency vehicles, killing one woman and injuring 17, the agency said in its announcement. The Autopilot system, deemed an assisteddriving system, can steer, accelerate and brake on its own, with crashes involved occurring in scenes where first responders used flashing lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board or cones warning of hazards.

The investigation covers 765,000 Tesla vehicles — almost everything Tesla has sold in the U.S. from the start of the 2014 model year until now.

In September, NHTSA stepped up the pressure and ordered Tesla to hand over data on its Autopilot system, aiming to gather information on whether Tesla has been involved with any arbitration proceedings or lawsuits involving the Autopilot system, as well as any customer complaints about the Tesla system. At the core of the investigation is whether Tesla has taken the needed steps to ensure that drivers are paying attention to the road and are alert enough to make emergency maneuvers.

Tesla has often contended that its technology is safe and effective, but has admitted that drivers use Autopilot as if it enables full autotomy instead of being something meant to assist drivers. Crashes and police stops of Tesla vehicles have shown that some drivers using Autopilot were watching movies, over the legal alcohol limit to drive, and in one notable San Francisco incident, the driver crawled into the back seat to nap as the vehicle crossed the Bay Bridge.

Government scrutiny of AV technology is not new, but the investigation marks the most severe effort by federal authorities into safety concerns to date, and serves as a sharp departure from the government’s arguably handsoff approach since the first Tesla Autopilot-related fatality was recorded in 2016 when a former Navy SEAL was killed in Florida when his Tesla struck a truck.

Since that 2016 crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigated some AV- and Tesla-related crashes. The agency has called on NHTSA to enforce its safety recommendations that include requiring Tesla to have a better system to ensure drivers are paying attention and that the system can only be used in areas it is deemed safe to operate. The NTSB lacks enforcement powers, however, and the NHTSA has declined

to act on any of the recommendations.

“It is astounding that, despite clear and sensible safety recommendations and countless concerns raised by a large variety of stakeholders calling for regulations on this technology, it has taken a slew of recent crashes involving first responders to finally prompt NHTSA to look at the severity of the issue,” said AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman.

“The AMA and its Board believe that this technology can bring a greater measure of safety to motorcyclists and drivers, but we remain greatly concerned that the rush to market of driver-assist systems, semiautonomous vehicles and highlyautomated vehicles poses a significant threat to motorcyclists when the developers of this technology and the vehicle manufacturers are not held to the highest safety standards throughout the entire development and implementation process,” Dingman added.

John Lenkeit, a Technical Director at Dynamic Research, Inc., a California company that tests highly-automated vehicles and active driver assist safety systems, and which has secured NHTSA testing contracts, said that while the automotive and tech industry has largely excluded motorcycles from its testing data, there are signs that advocacy is beginning to change the calculus.

“We are finally starting to see a concerted push to get motorcycles factored into the equation,” Lenkeit said, “and likely in the next five years it could be a standard part of testing procedures. What we have been seeing is that while there is strong data indicating that some of these systems make it safer for car-to-car traffic scenarios, the absence of motorcycle-related data presents a pretty scary situation on whether the technology can actually and successfully identify motorcycles on the road and incorporate them into their crash avoidance programs.”

Lenkeit cautions that drivers need to remain vigilant and fight the natural tendency to become over-reliant and overconfident with technology that may or may not live up to its promises.

To stay up to date on the latest developments in the intersection of autonomous vehicle technology and motorcyclist safety, subscribe to the AMA’s Action Alerts at americanmotorcyclist.com/subscriberights.

BY KEATON MAISANO

The FIM International Six Days Enduro demands both mental and physical fortitude, but it was the 652-day road from the 2019 FIM ISDE to the 2021 ISDE that pressured a rider’s patience and focus most.

Two of the U.S. ISDE teams — the Trophy and Women’s Trophy teams — spent their time mulling over an opportunity to repeat their gold medal performances, and the U.S. Junior Trophy team and Club teams awaited a chance to claim top spots in Italy. Although the wait proved worth it for the U.S. Women’s World Trophy team — which claimed the top position on the podium — the U.S. World Trophy Team surrendered two spots from its 2019 result to finish third, while the U.S. Junior Trophy team took 11th.

The U.S. women’s team — composed of Brandy Richards, Rachel Gutish and Britney Gallegos — only returned one member from the 2019 gold medalist team, but the success remained the same. Richards, the sole returner, set the standard by winning every test across the six-day event.

“When we started walking the tests,” Richards said, “I thought, ‘you know, I think I could win every single test.’ And after the first day, I was just thinking, ‘okay…you’ve got this!’”

The U.S. World Trophy team was not able to match the success of the ladies’ team, but the team — made up of Johnny Girroir, Taylor Robert, Layne Michael and Ryan Sipes — still secured a spot on the podium.

“[We’re] just excited to get through it and still had a pretty solid showing,” Robert said. “It’s not exactly where we wanted to be, but still showed that [we’re some] of the top guys in the world.”

The U.S. Junior Trophy team went from second position to out of podium contention when Austin Walton crashed on Day Four, resulting in a broken scapula that forced the team to incur a three-hour penalty on Days Five and Six. Dante Oliveira delivered a bright spot among a disappointing team showing when he won the final E2 moto of the event.

Outside of the trophy teams, the U.S. had four of its seven Club teams finish inside the top 10. The top performing team — Good Team, Bad Team — was composed of Cole Martinez, Nate Ferderer and Axel Pearson. The trio held third position until the final moto before falling to fourth by eight seconds. The U.S. club teams finished 4th, 5th, 7th, 10th, 26th, 29th and 113th.

France will host the 2022 ISDE in the town of Le Puyen-Velay.

In an announcement that could go a long way toward rejuvenating what is arguably America’s most legendary motorcycle race, MotoAmerica revealed that it will partner with Daytona International Speedway and the AMA to host the 80th running of the Daytona 200 on the weekend of March 10-12, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

According to MotoAmerica, the Daytona 200 will not be part of its Supersport Championship, a condition that offers the best riders from around the world the opportunity to compete for the minimum $175,000 in purse and contingency that will be offered.

In addition, the MotoAmerica weekend at Daytona International Speedway will form the opening round of the 2022 MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Championship, which means it’ll be the first time Baggers will race on the high banks of a Superspeedway, with speeds expected to exceed 160 mph. Can you say “draft fest?” We knew you could.

“The Daytona 200 is known worldwide to be one of the most exciting motorcycle races in the world,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey, who won the 200 in 1987. “We are proud to work with Daytona International Speedway, the AMA and FIM North America organizations to continue to enhance the prominence of the Daytona 200 … It’ll be a great way to start off the 2022 season.”

“The AMA is pleased that the Daytona 200 will now be run and managed by our AMA/FIM North America partner MotoAmerica for 2022,” said AMA President and CEO, and FIM North America President, Rob Dingman. “This has been one of our goals since 2015 when we established our partnership with MotoAmerica and facilitated the return of professional road racing sanctioning rights to the AMA.”

More information on the 2022 Daytona 200 will be announced soon, including additional support classes, final rules, entry instructions, broadcast coverage and ticket opportunities, so be sure to keep tabs on the MotoAmerica website at www. MotoAmerica.com. See you in March!

The American Motorcyclist Association has announced that the 30th installment of its annual celebration of vintage motorcycles will be July 22-24, 2022, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

“AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days is getting better every year, and this past summer’s event was no exception,” said AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. “We expect the 2022 event to keep the momentum going with even more riding, racing and fun at our three-day festival of all things vintage motorcycling.”

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will host the 30th AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, which began in 1992 and moved to the facility in 1995. The sprawling venue accommodates motocross, hare scrambles, trials, road racing, North America’s largest motorcycle swap meet and numerous recreational riding activities.

Tickets to 2022 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will be available soon. AMA members will be able to purchase tickets through the association at a discount. To take advantage of this discount, among many others, visit americanmotorcyclist.com/join or call (800) 262-5646.

Discover, navigate, and create epic routes.

RoadRUNNER Rides lets you navigate 600+ tours as seen in RoadRUNNER Motorcycle Touring & Travel magazine with full GPS navigation including turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance. You can also create your own custom routes with the easy-to-use in-app route planner.

Free to download. Two week free trial. $5.99/month or $59.99/year.

RoadRUNNER Rides App SPONSORED BY

Insurance Institute Study Highlights ABS Safety

BC_047460_DRI0416P.indd 1 Anthony's benefit logo.indd 1 1/11/16 3:13 PM 7/28/16 3:04 PM

• Crash Damage Repair • Section & Zipper Replacement & Repair • Custom Lazer Engraving & Cutting • Alteration, Cleaning & Dyeing Leather Drop Off Locations at All Authorized Repair Center for Dainese, Alpinestars, MotoAmerica Races REV’IT, MITHOS, and SPIDI 949-486-9000 • anthonysleatherworks.com

E xamining fatal crash rates for 65 motorcycle models offering antilock braking systems as an option from 2013 to 2019, researchers from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety found that bikes equipped with ABS were involved in 22 percent fewer fatal crashes.

“This study is our most expansive one yet on the topic [of ABS] and confirms the importance of this feature,” said IIHS Director of Statistical Services Eric Teoh, the author of the study. In earlier studies, the IIHS found that motorcycles with an ABS option had a greater effect on ® reducing the number of fatal crashes. Researchers contend that is because previous studies did not include a robust sampling of different motorcycle types.

The new study released in August included many more sport, unclad sport and supersport bikes, for example, and it found that riders of those types of motorcycles didn’t benefit as much from ABS. That may be because those bikes are more likely to be ridden aggressively and at higher speeds. The researchers defined sport, unclad sport and supersport bikes as those capable of high speeds, capable of high speeds without plastic fairings and consumer versions of racing motorcycles, respectively.

By motorcycle type, ABS was associated with a 32 percent reduction in crash rates for standard and cruiser motorcycles, with a roughly 25 percent reduction for touring and sport touring bikes. For sport bikes, that percentage fell to 19 percent, and for supersports it fell to 12 percent.

While the IIHS has called for a federal mandate requiring street-legal motorcycles to be fully equipped with ABS, the American Motorcyclist Association’s stance is that it should be more available but remain optional, especially for riders who take their ABS-equipped motorcycles on lowtraction gravel dirt roads and trails, as the option to disable the ABS system is often critical to retaining directional control of the motorcycle.

ABS is standard on more than Member deals and discounts! half of 2020 model motorcycles on the road in the U.S. and optional on another quarter, the study said. americanmotorcyclist.com