Motorbike riders are being encouraged to learn how to protect themselves better on the road by using anti-lock braking during Motorcycle Awareness Month, this month.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Paul Toole said a new video, released by Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and the Motorcycle Council of NSW, showed riders how the Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) safety feature worked.
“We know motorcycle ABS can save lives but we also know many riders aren’t as familiar as they should be with how it works,” Mr Toole said.
“We developed this video with the Motorcycle Council of NSW to clearly explain how ABS works by preventing the wheels from locking up to give riders better control and to ensure this potentially life-saving technology doesn’t go to waste,” he said.
Mr Toole said a study by Monash University in Melbourne had shown that ABS could reduce the rate of death and severe injury from motorcycle crashes by 39 per cent.
Chairman or the Motorcycle Council of NSW, Kevin Henry said the video would help prepare riders for the unfamiliar vibrations caused by ABS.
“The rider may feel a pulsing reverberate back through the brake lever and pedal when applied, but they just need to be aware of this sensation and continue to apply the brakes – it’s not a mechanical fault, it’s the ABS actively at work,” Mr Henry said.
“ABS has been mandatory on new models of motorcycles since 2019, and from November 2021 it will become mandatory for all new bikes, even older models still on the market,” he said.
Mr Henry said riders were strongly encouraged to buy motorcycles fitted with ABS as it would significantly reduce the risk of crashing.
The TfNSW video as well as further information on ABS can be accessed at this PS News link.
