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FEMA joins the Connected Motorcycle Consortium

FEMA has signed a letter of agreement to become an official supporter of the Connected Motorcycle Consortium. With this we formally support the work of CMC.

The Connected Motorcycle Consortium (CMC) is a consortium of BMW, Honda, KTM and Yamaha with the purpose to develop new applications and standards that make motorcycles communicate with other road users and infrastructure. The goal is to enhance road safety for motorcycles. Think of applications that warn motorists who want to turn left in front of oncoming motorcycles. As you know, this is the most occurring accident with motorcycles, so the introduction of such applications could be a big step forward in protecting motorcyclists from getting hit by cars.

Hennes Fischer, responsible for the external relations of the consortium says: “Motorcycle safety is a common interest of both industry and riders. CMC welcomes the support of FEMA in our strive to make motorcycles an integral part of future traffic.”

The consortium has also been joined by motorcycle manufacturers Ducati, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph and a number of other associate or development members. In December 2020 CMC published a ‘Basic Specification’ for Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) for motorcycles. More recently, CMC announced that they will also involve other techniques with sensors.

We consider the work of the Connected Motorcycle Consortium to be crucial to motorcyclists’ road safety, especially because many big motorcycle manufacturers are involved and support the development of the connected systems and the standards.

We also think that connectivity is the way to survive in a world with connected and automated vehicles. Without connectivity there will probably no place for motorcycles between automated cars. Therefor FEMA decided to join the consortium as an official supporter.

Dolf Willigers, FEMA’s General Secretary: “As advocacy organizations for motorcyclists’ interests, road safety for all motorcyclists and other riders of powered two-wheelers is high on our agenda. Therefore, I am very happy for us to join CMC as a supporter. We already supported their work in an informal way and now we have made it formal. Therefor it was with great pleasure that I signed the contract this morning and I am looking forward to future collaboration.”

Top illustration courtesy of CMC

Photographs by Wim Taal

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