Motorcyclists' Brake Operation, Motorcycle Brake Controls and a Case Study: The Need for Human Factors Engineering

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 2002-09, Vol.46 (10), p.890-894
• Main Author: Mortimer, Rudolf G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1541-9312; 1071-1813; 2169-5067
• DOI: 10.1177/154193120204601003

A survey was made of the braking techniques reportedly used by 180 motorcyclists in a variety of conditions. Overall, the motorcyclists indicated that they used both front and rear brakes in hard braking 75% of the time on dry pavement and 47% on wet, but in other conditions they mostly used the rear brake first or exclusively. That the rear brake is preferred is not surprising because of the design of the brake controls and other reasons. Reliance on the rear brake at the expense of the front wheel brake leads to reduced deceleration. A crash case study exemplifies the effect. Integrated brakes, in which each brake control simultaneously activates the brakes on the front and rear wheels, are indicated by good human factors design and by motorcyclist's braking performance and should improve safety, especially when the brakes incorporate anti-locking mechanisms