COMPUTER SIMULATION OF A SIMPLE MOTORCYCLE IN GLANCING IMPACTS WITH A RIGID BARRIER

A significant cause of serious injury in motorcycle accidents is the rider's leg being trapped between the motorcycle and the object with which it has collided. Leg protecting fairings can greatly reduce such injury but they can also alter the overall motion of the motorcycle during and after the impact.

It is obviously important to ensure that any such change in motion does not of itself increase the risk of injury. Simple, three-dimensional computer models are described which simulate the whole-body motions of motorcycles crashing into flat, vertical, rigid barriers at angles ranging from tangential to head-on. These models are intended for parametric studies but this paper concentrates on broad patterns of behaviour and no attempt is made to discuss parameter variations in detail. The models are described briefly and some typical qualitative results are presented.

The simulations will be used to study parameters which have a significant influence on the motion of motorcycles on impact including the effect of leg protecting fairings and other safety devices.