Safety Group Calls for ABS on US Motorcycles

An automotive safety organization is petitioning federal regulators to require antilock braking on all new motorcycles in order to save lives.

It’s the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s second petition seeking the new requirement, 10 years apart. It said in the intervening decade, 27 European Union countries, plus the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Japan, Taiwan and India have all started to require the systems on motorcycles.

Also during that time, motorcycle makers have increased the proportion of new bikes in the U.S. with antilock systems as standard from 20% in 2013 to 59% this year, but up to 40% of new U.S. bikes don’t have it, IIHS said.

"Ideally, the U.S. should take a leadership position when it comes to safety regulations,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “But at the very least, NHTSA should act swiftly to adopt the best practices when the rest of the world moves faster.”

The nonprofit group said that since its first such petition, research had shown more definitively that antilock systems prevent fatalities. Its own studies have found bikes with optional ABS have a 22% lower fatal crash rate than identical models without it. It said the results apply to every type of on-road motorcycle.

IIHS said collision insurance claims for models with ABS are more than 20% lower than for those without it.

It said any concerns that ABS can degrade handling on loose surfaces, such as gravel, could be addressed in legislation.

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