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Heads-Up Displays for Motorcyclists
An anonymous reader writes "An NYT article describes a new invention by a former racing driver to incorporate displays in the visors of helmets used by motorcyclists. A GPS receiver in the helmet is used to calculate position and speed of the wearer, and presumably in displaying route guidance. I'll bet some horrifying data could be gathered on the speed with which riders' heads impact the pavement after an accident."
...before the cops start using this to issue speeding tickets.
If this just attaches to the outside of a helmet, it probably won't catch on. No way I want more windnoise or extra vibration on my head. If it was integrated in a helmet it would be sorta nice. On the track it would be rather usefull to keep a eye on the rpms easier. A gear readout to go with that would cover most/all of my needs while riding.
for someone who's never left the safety of their redhat environment, you guys SURE know a lot about motorcycle safety. get your license, get a bike, crash it, and then you can give everyone else advice. i've been riding my whole life and i still have 100% functional bodyparts.
I've had some experience with motorcycles, and it sounds to me like this would just be a distraction. It may be real neato and stuff, but in a practical sense it may be a safety concern. Putting the display in the driver's helmet reduces the field of peripheral vision available (when focusing on the display). How about designing a display mounted on the motorcycle instead? We're familiar and comfortable with gauges already. This would reduce distraction, and increase safety.
Hi there
I use a motorcycle as my primary form of transportation and I have never had a problem checking my speed, odometer, RPMs, etc, simply by glancing down.
Personally, I think I would find it MORE distracting to have all that information in the "periphery of one eye". I'm always looking as far ahead as I can at road conditions, intersections and a million other things. The last thing I want is my vision obstructed
I really don't think this will be a boon to motorcycle safety...maybe if there were a switch on one of the handle bars that would flick the information on/off. That feature seems crucial, yet very difficult to package when you have no idea what bikes your consumers own, etc.
Motorcyclists already have to pay closer attention things on the road -- and the conditions of the road itself -- wet leaves, potholes, puddles -- than those on four wheels. Is putting more -- continually -- in their visual frame a good idea from the standpoint of safety? (and yes, all the cracks about why-are-you-on-a-motorcycle in the first place stand, but there's a difference between risking death and egging it on)
You know the way an interior light in a car is distracting at night because the reflection of things within the car obscure your perception of those outside? I'd feel safer sparing a glance to an instrument on my bike than having it in my face at all times. The helmet already narrows my visual field as it is.
Isn't that what makes it a HUD, that you don't look down? Indeed, isn't that why the term "heads-up display" was coined, to contrast it to instrument panels that you had to look down to read?
That being said, I agree with the sentiment expressed in your post. Having information displayed on a helmet overlay seems like a great idea, it means the motorcyclist won't have to look down to get information, and more space is available to display a greater variety of data.
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
With witty lines like that, I can't believe the poster refrained from making reference to 'murdercycles'. Helmets are largely a nonissue WRT motorcycle safety these days. They are 'safe enough', provided they are worn. (I'd like to ride in a state with helmet choice, but I'd always choose a lid.)
There are three issues that overwhelmingly appear in motorcycle fatalities. The first is alcohol. Alcohol use BY THE MOTORCYCLIST is the number one rider controllable factor in fatalities. Eliminate alcohol, and you eliminate 25% or more of motorcycle fatalities and accidents. That is why Harley does its customers a disservice by providing beer tents at events. Because of the number of factors a rider must juggle, the effects of alcohol are more readily apparant on bikes than cars.
The next issue is ignorance by other road users, primarily passenger vehicle operators. Nope, bikers aren't getting squashed by semis, they're getting squashed by SUVs and minivans. I've long been a proponent of tougher licensing standards in the US.
And the final issue is rider skill. Riders who are self taught or taught by friends and family are over six times as likely to be involved in an accident. That's why the MSF came into being. Yes, I'm an instructor, no, I don't speak on their behalf.
The value of HUDs, particularly WRT driver/rider safety at highway speeds found in the US (where this inventor is located) is of questionable. Lack of access to engine and/or vehicle statistics doesn't even appear in any accident statistics. Sure, this is a neat toy, but judging by the writing by the AC submitter, I think he's just pissed at having been passed by even the most mundane of motorcycles.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
I know on my Intruder 1500LC, I'd like this on my windshield. My speedo is on the tank, and it's a good glance down to check speed & fuel level (no tach on my V-Twin yet). On my old FZR600, this would have been sweetness indeed in my helmet - mid-corner, close to apex, check RPM/gear/speed - without looking down. IF you could make it unobtrusive yet visible. IF, if, if. Motorcyclists don't need distractions - I'm using 100% of my senses to look ahead, beside, and behind to watch for cagers when I'm riding.
If you've never ridden before, don't condemn or judge or pretend you know anything about motorcycling. Until you've tagged your favorite twisty road on two wheels, just ridden 150+ miles to have breakfast with your buds, or just ridden to be out... I can't explain it to you. You have to experience it.
If you ride, keep the shiny side up! Winter won't last forever...
"If there's hope, it lies in the proles..."
.. as opposed to yacking their head off on the mobile phone instead of concentrating on driving, checking mirrors and so such. Motorcycles would be a hell of a lot safer if they would just outlaw cagers ;)
"I'll bet some horrifying data could be gathered on the speed with which riders' heads impact the pavement after an accident."
wish I could mod "-1: distasteful"...
Insightful: 76, Off-Topic: 379, Flamebait: 24, Funny: 152, Interesting: 201, Underrated: 55, Troll: 9, Total: 896
...other than in a car, and I know I pretty much have a +/-5mph idea of my speed (and +/-500 RPM), just by the car, the road, the feel of all the inputs, where my foot is on the gas, the sound of the engine, road-noise etc...I would think most people who ride regularly have an even more accurate 'feel' of their situation (the non-morons anyway) and the loss of peripheral vision and subconscious distraction of the read out would do more harm than good. For cars I think they should be standard safety equipment, but I think responsible bikers have a situational awareness that rivals a HUD. Again, I'm NOT speaking from experience on bikes, just extrapolating from driving a car.
Sorry, but I have enough to worry about on my bike, here is a short list.
(1) drivers who are conditioned to not notice anything on the road smaller than an excursion, and will pull out in front of me while seemingly staring at me.
(2) Those same drivers making a left turn at a light, not noticing I'm in the oncoming lane
(3) wet leaves
(4) oil, antifreeze, pretty much any liquid
(5) deer (PA, nuff said)
(6) Other bikers. Don't get me wrong, it can be very safe if you just take precautions, unfortunately sometimes it seems like I'm the only one on two wheels who is sober, wearing safety equipment, and not trying for the sound barrier.
(7) People. They won't walk out in front of a car but for some reason will dart out in front of a motorcycle. Mutually assured destruction I guess.
So no thanks, I don't need any more visual distractions. I wouldn't say no to a device that spoke my current speed into my ear at the touch of a button (preferably on the handlebars).
Finkployd
There's no way in hell that GPS will be used to administer speeding tickets. First of all, what if you had to speed up a couple mph to avoid an accident? would the GPS recognize this? or just send you a ticket in the mail for speeding? Secondly, I'd like to see the politician who actually tries to push this through the legislature. Talk about bad publicity. No one goes the absolute speed limit. The speed limit on most freeways is 65 mph but the highway patrol estimate the average speed of traffic to be around 70-75. I say it's around 75-85 most of the time. The fact is, nothing is absolute (not even the law). That is why we have judges, and not robots or GPS' to decide things for us.
most of the dangers to motorcycle riders isn't them getting distracted themselves but by people in cars not paying attention.
"Tread softly because you tread on my dreams"
You are absolutely correct in your underlying statements about bikers having a lot to pay attention to, yet you don't draw the conclusions. I take it from your comments about bikes being dangerous that you don't drive one yourself?
I drive a Suzuki Hayabusa. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a bike basically built for insane speeding. It starts to accelerate seriously around 80 mph, from where it kicks you up to 180-190 mph while leaving your guts behind.
(As a side note here, speeding is not seen as a particularly serious crime where I live. It's regarded more like a sport. A friend of mine referred to speeding tickets as "fun tax".)
Anyway. When you're cruising down the highway at 140-150 mph or so, there's just no looking down at the instrument panel. The concept of looking down does not exist on this planet. Your focus is ahead, on the road, on the traffic. And sharply so.
Therefore, this is something that will actually make you READ the speedometer. Read the speedometer AT ALL. As it currently stands, the only speed indication you have as a sportbiker is the pitch of your engine, because you sure as hell aren't taking your eyes off the road.
In these conditions, the "spare of your glance" which you are talking about, means you are unaware of the road and the traffic for a minimum of 100 yards travelled (about one second to look down, refocus, and interpret what you are seeing).
So, bring on any and all information you can onto my visor. Anything that rests in my field of view is good, if it means I don't need to take the eyes off the road.
And poor-ass 20-somethings who like getting 50MPG, < $30/mo insurance, and much cheaper college campus parking permits.
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 -- Mathematics is the Language of Nature.
You know what? A few minutes after I made the post I changed my mind completely and decided this was a bad idea, mostly for the reasons you now write about. :-)
:-) Like you say, the cool factor does not cut it.
When going with the flow of traffic, looking at the speedometer is not important. When ignoring speed limits altogether, looking at the speedometer is not important, either. And like you say, you get the rpm info from the engine pitch, which is plenty.
So I swiftly turn 180 degrees to "get that crap outta my eyesight, I don't need it".
I guess what triggered my post was your reflection that it's much safer to look down. That I still don't agree with, but that's another story.
You are right that I haven't had a deer wander into my peripheral vision, vectoring towards where I'm going to be driving in a split second. That's mostly because they're not so common here, though. Pedestrians happen. Cars definitely happen. The guy who taught me to ride always told me to drive like I was wearing fluorescent clothes, and the first car driver to hit me would win the $1 million jackpot. I still think he has a point.
So, mea culpa, you're right, get this crap off my gear.
(and just for the record, I always wear protective gear: full helmet, bulletproof vest against sharp metal, impact protection jacket, and full-body sliding protection.)
Only those who haven't ridden call them 'donorcycles' or wonder about the speed at which a rider's helmet touches ground during a wreck. Seriously, that was the lamest comment I've seen yet at ./ ... and that's saying something. I wish I had mod points today. Do me a favor -- if you even thought about making a comment like that, go take a motorcycle class. The MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) or your local equivalent (i.e. TeamOregon in, uh, Oregon) offers them in every state. Taking that class is guaranteed to make you a better cage driver, and you could walk out of it with a motorcycle endorsement and an appreciation for the lifestyle and risks that motorcyclists accept in exchange for being able to bomb down that perfect canyon.
As for the HUD ... I don't need any other distractions. Riding a motorcycle, by itself, requires 3 times the concentration that driving a car does. Add in the fact that everybody else on the road is quite literally trying to kill us ... and then add in some serious distractions from a HUD, and you've got a recipe for disaster.
HUDs in cars are a good idea, but motorcyclists are already at their information saturation limit.
--
Vote for your hopes, not for your fears - Vote Third Party
While it sounds cool and all... nifty gadgets and all that. There's no F'ing way I'd want something like that in my field of vision.
I like my guages where they are, and putting something like that in my helmet is just a recipe for disaster as my eyes try to focus in and out between the display and the road and the horizon. It would lead to a lot of eye strain, which directly translates to extreme danger for a motorcycle.
Thanks... but no. The only time a motorcyclist could safely view data like that is when he or she doesn't need it.
As for people trashing the idea of riding a bike, while you have the possibility of getting in an accident because another driver is not paying attention (or in my case was too old to be on the road) if you drive within the law, stay off the damn sport bikes that have no business anywhere but a track, pay attention to what you're doing, and wear a helmet, you can ride with relative safety.
I'm 21, drove nothing but motorcycles since I've been able to have a permit @ 15.5 years, and loved getting between 60 and 70 Mpg. Believe me, you don't ride a 250 nighthawk to try to look cool or race people, and if that's why you ride a motorcycle, you might as well give up your keys.
For those interested, this was my first accident. I t-boned a chrysler at 40mph, with no helmet on. I was lucky and limped out of the ER 2 hours later with only some staples in my knee and an interesting circular wound to my abdomen from my handlebars. My head didn't touch anything until I came to a rest on the side of the road after getting bounced off her windshield. Had my head impacted anything a helmet would have been more than adaquate to prevent damage.
Even people that believe in pre-destiny look both ways before crossing the street.
My instructor -- very careful rider, showed up to my road test in a neck brace and a back brace. Could it have happened in a car? Sure. Would it likely have happened being rear-ended at a stop-light from a little old lady from Portage la Prairie? Only if she was going a hell of a lot faster than she was.
Two autumns later he dove off his bike to avoid being crushed by a half-ton when he heard it's brakes lock on a bridge downtown. The man is super-experienced on a bike, and he's dangling for dear life on a friggin guard rail.
Yeah, motorcycles are dangerous if you do stupid things on them. Motorcycles are dangerous if you are Mr. Safety, too, because there's always the other half of the equation -- the idiot who comes out of nowhere.
Saying that, I still ride, but I don't pretend there's no danger.
I've been riding on the street since 1969, and have owned nine motorcycles, and was an all weather rider for two of the wettest years California's Santa Cruz Mtns. had on record, so I'm qualified to respond as a rider who didn't dare look down at his instruments on Highway 17 between Los Gatos, and Summit Road, on my way home during some incredibly wet nights.
I think it's a great idea, and will adopt it just as soon as it's much smaller, and "transparent", as in, built into a helmet.
Until then... too BIG, and I agree that wind noise could be an issue with the unit as it is now.
Very good idea though.
If it don't GO... chrome it. ~ Frank Banks
Actually, here in the UK the biggest problem is "born-agains", who are men in their late 40s to late 50s, taking early retirement, and go buy themselves a nice big bike with that fat wodge of cash they've just been handed.
Sadly, what they fail to realise is that the VFR750 they've just bought is a hell of a lot more bike than the CB750 Honda they had back in '75. Well, *initally* they don't realise this. Shortly after getting to a quiet back road, they find this out, usually a little before they realise that hedges aren't very comfortable.
"I'll bet some horrifying data could be gathered on the speed with which riders' heads impact the pavement after an accident."
CowboyNeal, you are a fuckwit of the highest order.
Motorcyclists are half as likely to be involved in an accident as other road users. You want to know why? Because we're fucking careful on the roads, we actually *observe* what's going on around us despite the fact that when you look up from doing the crossword, driking your latte and putting your fucking contacts in you think we're going too fast when we pass.
So go on, you sit stationary in your cage in that traffic jam for 3 hours of your life every day.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
As the medical community has knocked me off my motorcycle twice (A doctor from Southhampton General, and a trainee Doctor in Sheffield) and the doctors in Peterborough treated me like sh*t after I had been run down by an Army corporal, I for one have no time for these knife wielding butchers, we care to call Doctors.
The medical community gives motorcyclists a tough time. I say if you become a doctor you treat people that are sick and banged up; that is your job. Screw the complaints just do your %$#@ing job.
I program computers, I don't bitch when someone comes to me with a bug! That's my job. We choose the jobs we do.
I ride motorcycles and try to avoid the numbskulls that drive all those steel boxes still thinking they are sitting in an EZ-boy and playing the PS2 game "Commuter killer."
Am I angry when I hear people like you refer to Motorcyclists in this manner, damned sure I am. And if you want one of us aged, knarled, damp, cold, hunting for red blood, motorcyclists to give you an idea of how we feel, don't move from that spot!!
Riding for 24yrs
Programming for a living for 22yrs
As a motorcyclist myself, I'm not sure which is more worrying. The sad comments by the computer-potato set, who have no clue about risk and reward outside of the virtual world; or, the others here who ride, but seem to have a rather narrow view of the motorcycling experience.
As has been mentioned many times, alcohol is a major cause of motorcycle accidents, and a major source of fatalities. This is no different than automobiles. Perhaps the car or truck driver will "get away with it" a little more often because they can stumble home with a few dents on their Hummer, rather than laying on the side of the road with a broken leg (or worse). Motorcycles do require more attention and fitness of mind and body to ride safely than do automobiles.
Sportbikes are better motorcycles for road use. They handle, stop and accelerate (often a safety feature) better than nearly any vehicle on the road. They are not inherently more dangerous than other types of bikes. Most bikes, even mundane ones, will out accelerate a car and exceed 100 miles per hour. This power always carries responsibility.
As far as "image" goes, one could argue that cruisers with their "biker lifestyle" baggage (no helmets, drinking, thong-wearing passengers, older RUB riders) contribute more to accident statistics and injury with their habits. Or the big tourers with their generally older riders and heavy weights, overloading and high-mileage skew the statistics. Not to mention off-road bikes and the "evil" ATV!
But I've owned or ridden all of these, so I don't plan to throw any stones. They all provide a quality of life that few inanimate objects do. If I die doing this (and I don't try or plan to), so be it. What "wonderful" way will you check out? None of them sound too good to me (ok, I can think of a few that might not be too bad).
If this "padded cell" mentality is Darwinism in action, I'm sure good old mother nature will come along and nip that limb of the tree in the bud. I don't think people that work up a sweat reformatting a hard drive are the pinnacle of natural selection.
Don't like the ER folks slagging-off bikers? Don't give them your organs!
Open your minds a little folks! Or is this the eventual attitude of any group of zelots?
is something that the people around you aren't expecting. If there is a traffic signal that says stop, the other drivers are expecting you to stop. If you don't stop, I wouldn't expect them to feel bad about running you over. Of course, that implies that they are paying attention to the traffic and not jabbering away on their cellphone, stuffing their face with a Big Mac, applying make-up, etc. However, this sums up the counter-point... Here lies the body of Old John Jay He died maintaining his right of way He was perfectly right as he plodded along But he's just as dead as if he was wrong!
How about designing a display mounted on the motorcycle instead? We're familiar and comfortable with gauges already. This would reduce distraction, and increase safety.
And that said super-duper motorcycle would be out on the street about
You can take your helmet in with you to dinner, or when shopping.
The number one cause of injury in motorcycle accidents is motorcycles being ridden by riders who have not trained themselves how to ride. Inexperience and ignorance are why get people hurt on motorcycles.
If the government and it's citizens want to make a law regarding safe motorcycle use, require all license applicants to take a 6 week motorcycle safety riding/training course as offered by the MSF.
Support your local A.B.A.T.E chapter or other Motorcycle Rights Organization.
Let those who ride decide!
I disagree completely. Speed in and of itself is not a problem. A good biker who knows his bike in and out can take the twisties at speeds that would make my stomach churn.
It's the idiots who run out and grab a 200-mph rice burner right after they get their license and think they've got nothing left to learn about riding safely. It's the ones who weave through rush-hour traffic at 90 mph. It's the morons who don't change their riding style when the pavement's wet or icy. It's the idiots who take hairpin curves at 90 and wonder where the hell that car came from.
In every one of those cases, "excessive speed" would be listed as a major factor by the cops, but it's not. That's great for paperwork, but it doesn't tell the story. Speed is not the problem. Riding too fast for conditions and not knowing your bike are what kills.
That, and as the poster above said, alcohol or drugs. People who drink and ride are a Darwin award waiting to happen. I made the mistake of doing this once. Luckily, I got home ok, but nothing scares the living hell out of you like falling asleep at 65 mph. It remains the dumbest thing I've ever done.
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