Objectives, originality and novelty of the project

The VIROLO+ project proposes to focus on bend-taking manoeuvres. The aim is to fill the knowledge gap
on bend-taking practices for a group of experienced and novice riders. In particular, the project aims to
understand how riders enter a bend, maintain control and exit a bend.
From a technical standpoint, the explanations given by riders of PTWs on how they control their vehicle
through various stages of the bend-taking manoeuvre are diverse. It should be noted that this is not the case
for car drivers. Some riders state that they use a “counter-steering” technique, which consists of pushing the
handlebars in the direction of the desired turn. Others explain that they use only their body weight to tilt the
motorcycle. In addition to the technical aspects, bend negotiation in an open road context is quite different
from that practised on a competition circuit. An open road context is characterised by a frequent lack of
visibility, unpredictable road geometry and surface conditions, and the possible presence of other road users.
Thus, any safe bend-taking manoeuvres rely not only on motor skills, but also on the cognitive processing of
the driving context.
Counter-measures are needed to improve road safety and mitigate the risk of accidents in bends. In order to
do so, it is necessary to observe the interaction between riders and their motorcycles in bends, and compare
riders’ statements of how they think they act with what they actually do. A better understanding of rider
behaviour would make it possible to sensitise riders who show good practice (experienced riders), but also to
set up new training and retraining measures (pre- and/or post-test), to improve the design and operation of
roads (e.g., geometry, equipment, maintenance), to amend the highway code (speed limitation), and to identify areas for the design and/or assessment of driving assistance devices dedicated to PTWs. Indeed, the
design of active safety systems strongly depends on an accurate knowledge of rider behaviour, because the
acceptability of such systems relies on the guarantee that they do not affect the equilibrium of the rider or
PTW system. Finally, knowledge of the interaction between riders and their PTWs is critical for the tuning of
riding simulators, which can then be used by a broader set of the rider population.
The design of riding aid devices, and the training of riders to use them, are at the core of the VIROLO+
research project. The consortium’s ambition is to mitigate PTW rider road fatalities and injuries linked to a
loss of control in bends through:
1. the acquisition of fundamental knowledge on the way that bends are actually approached and the
trajectories taken. Experiments will be conducted that allow us to objectively measure the riding
parameters and rider/PTW interactions;
2. a cybernetic model of trajectory control, which is as close as possible to that actually used by riders.
The aim of this model is to propose research topics for the design/assessment of active safety devices
in bends (i.e. , devices that take on part or all of the control of a PTW vehicle);
3. the assessment of bend-taking practices through the use of “off-line” tools in pre-test and/or
continuous training. This can be carried out using “on-line” recorded data, which is gathered through
embedded sensors. Precise “actual” trajectories can then be compared with “safety” trajectories to
produce so called “reference” trajectories. “Safety” trajectories take into account criteria such as
visibility in bends and the mitigation of gas consumption;
4. the development of a curriculum that delivers training/retraining in safe cornering procedures using a
“low-cost” riding simulator (cf. 3); in particular, for situations with poor visibility, such as bends on
secondary or mountain roads;
5. the use of “on-line” tools for risk quantification when approaching a bend. Such tools would need to
be suitable for use by novice riders, particularly during pre-test training and the immediate post-test
period;
6. a refinement of the “high-end” riding simulators owned by partners (Ifsttar, ECA-FAROS), thanks
to new knowledge on riders’ actual bend-taking practices (i.e., the interactions between riders and
PTWs, for a range of the riding population).
The project is structured around the use of instrumented PTWs, the instrumentation being more or less heavy
depending on the studies to be conducted.
The chronology proposed for the research is reliant on the availability of the instrumented PTWs and on the
time required to enrich the instrumentation. The reconstruction of “precise” trajectories and the calculation of
the “risk function” can be achieved using existing instrumented PTW owned by Ifsttar, with the addition of
systems that allow “precise” localisation. The study of the rider/PTW interactions requires a much heavier
instrumentation in order to measure the pressures exerted by riders on their PTWs at the various contact
points.