The timeline of our “No To Throttle Control” campaign.
The SAFERIDER Project has ended and the “No To Throttle Control” campaign by Right To Ride to have the Consortium withdraw the Force Feedback Throttle was successful.
View the latest posts on the “No To Throttle Control” Facebook wall below.
What’s On The Facebook Page – The Wall – No To Throttle Control
31st December 2010 – The MRF reports on the No To Throttle Control Campaign on page 43! Click Here
28th December 2010 – Well folks, we’ve hit the 500+ members, That is a good thing. Spread the word. Our message is simple: the throttle on our bikes is non-negotiable!
19th December 2010 – The final results from the project are now on the Saferider website. If you have any comments to make, you can write to the project directors and let them know your views. Our view is simple – leave research to the private sector, don’t waste OUR money on assumptions that we need to be saved from ourselves.
28th November 2010 – We are told that 5 million Euros wasn’t enough money to make the ARAS/IVIS systems work. So instead of admitting defeat, they want more money – lots more money.
12th November 2011 – It appears that BMW has already done the leg work and got some of the systems (that the SAFERIDER consortium allegedly failed to develop) up and running. Check out BMW Motorrad’s ConnectedRide.
11th November – The SAFERIDER Project has ended. Read our review – Click Here
11th November 2010 – On November 5th the SAFERIDER team met at MIRA (Warwickshire) for the final review of the IT warning systems they were developing for motorcycles including the Force Feedback Throttle. We were informed that “the outcome of the trials suggest that the impact on riding tasks could not be validated through proper testing,…
1st November 2010 – Now That’s Throttle Control. Given time and this epic electronic safety net, you then learn to fine tune the bike’s trajectory in a turn with the twistgrip alone…”
28th October 2010 – From David Hough in the US: There is currently lots of hoopla over the SafeRider program. It sounds awfully “Buck Rogers” to me. I don’t think I could get the hang of depending on an on-board computer and displays to tell me how to ride.
15th October 2010 – We’ve heard from our man on the ground that the Saferider consortium has publicly acknowledged our concerns.
BMW Effort
Adaptive and Cooperative Technologies for Intelligent Traffic
BMW has already done the leg work and got some of the systems (that the SAFERIDER consortium allegedly failed to develop) up and running.
6th October 2010 – Someone from “the other side” replied – excellent to finally have a different perspective.
30th September 2010 – Received response from Project Officer Mr Davila-Gonzalez – he has passed on our comments to the NEW Project Officer Mr Stefanos Gouvras.
28th September 2010 – The FIM – UEM “Public Policy Newsletter” comments about the European Union (EU) supported project “Saferider”
25th September 2010 – No reply from the EU Project Officer Emilio Davila-Gonzalez, nor from the SAFERIDER project directors – perhaps they need reminding.
19th September 2010 – On 20th July 2010, the EC published their Road Safety Action Plan setting out the criteria for the introduction of Intelligent Speed Adaptation.
13th September 2010 – A word of warning: The SAFERIDER project ends in November when there will be a final review.
5th September 2010 – On The Biker Guide website – No To Throttle Control press release.
27th August 2010 – Right To Ride’s campaign on “No To Throttle Control” has reached across the Irish Sea and has been acknowledged by the UK motorcycle magazine “The Riders Digest”.
19th August 2010 – Letter and Document sent to – EU Commission project officer and the Saferider Consortium.
19th August 2010 – The feedback that is given to the rider consists of a controllable torque that is exerted on the gas throttle handle through a bawden cable.
16th August 2010 – The 2001 International Motorcyclists’ Public Policy Conference at Mulhouse declaring its opposition to the proposals of External Vehicle Speed Control………
7th August 2010 – It’s been suggested that the device being developed isn’t really that bad. We disagree and this is why………..
4th August 2010 – At the Saferider User Forum in 2008 the FEMA President stated to the public “Fundamental to our role as the defender of riders’ rights in Europe.
2nd August 2010 – Wakey Wakey hands off…throttle… It’s not just bikes, trucks already have speed limiters and the EC now wants to introduce them for vans..and then?
30th July – Video – Crash Proof Bike Safety System.
29th July 2010 – New HMI Concept for Motorcycles – the Saferider Approach. Force feedback in throttle: A throttle with programmable return force is being developed.
“In the project the motorcycle will be equipped with a force controlled throttle able to tune the return force through a servo controlled electric motor in order to communicate a speed reduction warning”.
29th July 2010 – Not just bikes. Honest John: “The complexity of electronic emissions equipment imposed on modern cars by lobbied governments has actually made them unreliable.”
28th July 2010 – The European Commission funds the project SAFERIDER which has developed the Force Feedback Throttle to control motorcycles. Links to European Commission Community page, if you write text which include the “European Commission” it will be displayed on that page. Tell the European Commission what you think – you know it makes sense!
25th July – Your throttle or the Saferider throttle?
23rd July – Why throttle control is important: The primary function of the throttle is to turn our bikes from something that is statically unstable to something that is statically and dynamically stable.
21st July 2010 – How Much? – Total cost: 5,4 m€ – EU-funding: 3,5 m€
20th July 2010 – Force feedback throttle – In German – Using a small electric motor, the restoring force of the throttle to be reinforced as required. This can hinder the further rotation of the handle, and short jerks realize under control and achieve a constant, linear or square reinforcement in increasing the restoring force.
19th July 2010 – Well Said Then – June 2008 – Silence Now? – Previous FEMA President: Fundamental to our role as the defender of riders’ rights in Europea, is that any technology must be developed in such as way that the rider has complete control of his or her machine.
18th July 2010 – SafeRider…..Rider Safety the EU Way?? – Published by “Back Roads Rider” motorcycle blog – February 2010.
18th July 2010 – A presentation from a conference in Germany from one of the Saferider partners.
18th July 2010 – Simulator – Here is the motorcycle driving simulator of the University of Padova. University of Padova (the Motorcycle Dynamic Research Group) is a partner of SafeRider Project.
17th July 2010- The positions of FEMA, the BMF and MAG UK regarding Intelligent Speed Adaptations and throttle control are set out below. However we would like to be clear that none of these organisations have endorsed this facebook page or our campaign “No To Throttle Control”.
17th July 2010 – What They Said! – Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA) – 2004.
17th July 2010 – What They Said! – What is the BMF’s policy on ISA? – 2007.
17th July 2010 – What They Said! – What the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG UK) said from 2001 to 2007 about speed control technology.
16th July 2010 – “If the developers in the saferider project had really listened to the “experts” group, then half of the projects they are working on should have been canceled after our meeting”………………..
15th July 2010 – Mulhouse Declaration – In 2001 International Motorcyclists’ Public Policy Conference at Mulhouse declaring its opposition to the proposals of Throttle Control (EVSC)…………”
Discussion Board
19th August 2010 – Letter and Document sent to – EU Commission project officer and the Saferider Consortium.
13th July 2010 – Throttle Control – what’s it all about
15th July 2010 – Warning Systems For Motorcycles
16th July 2010 – Regarding Experts
The Wall – Members Comments
20th October 2010 – A van rear ended me last week. It wasn’t as bad as it may be would’ve been because I managed to get a handful of throttle as I heard him skidding behind me. I managed to accelerate and turn left away from the car in front of me.
1st September 2010 – Wow. I’ve thought for a long time they were trying to discourage people from riding bikes but I didn’t realise they were trying to kill us. What kind of fool would actually buy a new bike with this system fitted?
16th August – “I will give the EU the chance to have it Say, but unless I have 100% confidence that the so called EVSC will not put my life in risk, or the Risk factor into a computer chip…….”
4th August 2010 – “Although I understand the need of control speed in name of safety, I cannot see the real benefit of removing the control from the rider……”
15th July 2010 – “This is a disaster waiting to happen taking away control from the rider all together……………”
15th July 2010 – “The nanny state raises its ugly head yet again, after my involvement with the Saferider I thought this was put to bed at the Lyon meeting, obviously not……….”
Comments On – Photos
14th July 2010 – “No – that’s not right. It is a throttle “control” system, in fact the project documents are very clear about that”.
“What we are talking about is not advisory in the sense of giving a signal your throttle is open far enough. It is putting a resistance on the throttle, thus taking “Full Control” away from the rider. It’s that simple we do want control taken away from the rider. The rider should decide where and what position the throttle should be for any given circumstance.”
“What may be hard to understand is the philosophy behind what this Facebook page is about and the technicalities of any of these systems versus the freedom to ride!”
Pre – Campaign
The run up to “No To Throttle Control” our reports and news on the issue of Intelligent Speed Adaption (ISA) – Intelligent Transport Systems ITS) and “No To Throttle Control” and what others said:
31st May 2009 – Right To Ride – Intelligent Transport Systems – The Motorcycle Factor – Click Here
1st July 2009 – Right To Ride – Motorcycle Safety In Northern Ireland – The Rider’s Perspective – Click Here
7th February 2010 – Back Roads Rider – SafeRider…..Rider Safety the EU Way?? – Click Here
21st April 2010 – Motorcycle Minds – Shake Rattle And Roll – Warning Systems For Motorcycles – Click Here
14th June 2010 – Right To Ride – Throttle Control – Back With a Vengeance – Click Here
14th July 2010 – No To Throttle Control – On Facebook– It’s Not All Speed – Click Here
19th August 2010 – Letter and Document sent to – EU Commission project officer and the Saferider Consortium.
25th September 2010 – Follow up Letter and Document sent to – EU Commission project officer and the Saferider Consortium.
No To Throttle Control – On Facebook – Click Here