Powered Two Wheelers (in short PTW’s) form a rapidly growing substantial and integrated part of the European transportation system. For the greater part they are employed in so-called urban mobility. PTW’s give their riders an excellent opportunity to make better use of the road system. In many circumstances PTW’s offer an efficient way of transportation. They are flexible, small, faster than cars in congested traffic and easy to park. Furthermore, they offer easy access to crowded cities and streets. Despite these positive characteristics PTW’s have their drawbacks. The number of accidents in which PTW’s are involved, is of major concern to the authorities. In certain cases human failure is the primary cause of the accident. Nevertheless a large number of accidents is caused by shortcomings of the infrastructure. Frequently a motorcyclist gets injured or even killed due to deficiencies of and obstacles alongside the roadway. To understand both nature and causes of PTW accidents ACEM conducted the MAIDS study. This project was supported by the European Commission and other partners. MAIDS2 is an extensive study in sampling five areas in Europe. It indicates that – after the passenger car - the roadway itself is the obstacle the PTW most likely crashes into. This conclusion emphasizes the need for a thorough analysis of elements of infrastructure. Recent publications in The Netherlands, Norway, The United Kingdom, Belgium, France and Germany show that a civil engineering handbook may well be a helpful instrument for improving traffic safety for PTW’s. Particularly by emphasizing engineering items to consider in the appropriate design and maintenance of the infrastructure. Therefore ACEM, taking into account the conclusions of the MAIDS study, took the initiative to integrate the existing national handbooks into one European handbook. To further broaden the scope of this handbook information of two Eastern European countries – Poland and Bulgaria, two areas in which personal transportation is expanding rapidly – are included whenever deemed appropriate. (Author/publisher)
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