As most motorcycle enthusiasts know, the open road can be treacherous if you aren’t paying full attention to your surroundings. You may be aware of everything around you, but it can take that one motorist who isn’t paying attention to cause an accident or injury to other road users.
Jay Giraud, CEO and Co-Founder of Damon Motorcycles, focused on redefining mobility with Damon by creating a safer, smarter, and seamlessly connected motorcycle experience. Teaming up with Dom Kwong, Damon’s COO and Co-Founder, they have both set their sights on transforming personal mobility as we know it to prevent accidents on the road.
Related: The Most Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
The Statistics
Due to the physicality and 2-wheeled nature of a motorbike, motorcyclists are at a higher risk of injury compared to those driving closed vehicles like cars.
Motorcyclists face a range of possible dangers when out on the road which has to be taken into account at all times, for example:
● Reduced visibility to other drivers and pedestrians. This makes it easy to get caught in collisions if drivers carelessly pull out or open car doors without looking
● Adverse weather and road conditions. Motorcyclists may need extra space in torrential rain or fast winds.
In 2020, it was reported that in the US alone, there were 83,000 injuries recorded by motorcycle riders. Overall, accident fatalities were significantly higher for motorcycle riders compared to those traveling in a passenger car or light truck (69 fatal crashes per 100,000 registered accidents vs 17 and 14 for cars and light trucks, respectively).
Furthermore, it was found that motorcyclists suffered fatal collisions most commonly during weekday rush hour periods – between 3 pm and 6 pm and between 6 pm and 9 pm. With busier roads, there are more vehicles and an increased risk.
Could Electric Motorcycles Help Solve the Problem?
In 2016, Damon’s Co-Founder Jay Giraud, had a crash while riding in Jakarta, Indonesia. And he never wanted it to happen again. It was at that point, Damon was born.
The company’s main goal is to make each rider’s experience a smarter and safer one to reduce road incidents and rider fatalities. In fact, Giraud has stated that Damon’s goal is to eventually “build a crashless future”.
With data-driven thinking and utilizing motorcycle technology at the heart of Damon’s values, they’ve introduced innovations in sensor fusion, robotics, and AI into the motorcycling world – which would not have been possible with an ICE motorcycle.
CoPilot™ Advanced Warning System
This all started with CoPilot™.
Damon Co-Founder’s, Jay, and Dom, originally set out to create an AI-scanning collision warning system. However, after the concepts were rejected by several well-known OEMs, they realized they would have to build motorcycles to use this technology themselves. And those motorcycles needed to be electric.
Now, the theCoPilot™ Advanced Warning System is the revolutionary, advanced motorcycle warning system used in all Damon’s electric motorcycles.
The system uses radars, cameras, and non-visual sensors to track the direction, velocity, and speed of up to 64 moving objects for unparalleled situational awareness. It alerts riders of any potential hazards in several ways, including:
● Always-operational 1080p front and rearview cameras for constant 360º of your surroundings
● Handlebars with haptic feedback that warn of upcoming hazards
● Integrated windscreen LEDs to give warning of any blind spots
What’s more, via the use of motorcycle AI and machine learning, CoPilot™ ensures you and your bike become smarter and safer with every ride.
Damon’s neural anonymously captures and tags the incident details in 360º. After that, it transmits the data to Damon’s cloud via the embedded wireless connection. The more information the neural network collects, the faster the system can learn your unique riding style and better anticipate threats.
This technology would not be possible with the constraints of an ICE motorcycle and is an example of how electric motorcycles can make riding safer than ever thought possible.
The Downsides
Electric vehicles are starting to gain traction over their gas counterparts across the board, and motorcycles are no exception to this.
However, there are still some downsides to electric motorcycles. Some riders are skeptical that electric motorcycles have enough range needed for more than a short commute. In addition, the perceived lack of EV charging infrastructure in rural areas leaves some worried about the prospect of breaking down on the road with nowhere to charge.
That being said, charging infrastructure is steadily improving throughout the world and will only continue to do so. In addition, as battery technology improves, so too do the range and charging capabilities of electric motorcycles. For example, Damon’s HyperSport HS has an estimated range of 200+ miles and – with fast charging capabilities – can charge up to 132 miles in just 30 minutes.
While there is always room for improvement, this is an area where electric motorcycles are starting to defy old stereotypes.
The Future of Electric Motorcycles
With the technological advancements available to electric vehicles seemingly having no ceiling, the future is exciting for electric motorcycles. Damon’s co-founders, Jay, and Dom are using this brave new world to realize their vision of creating a cashless future and tackling motorcycle safety once and for all.
Though more development and work still need to be done for electric motorcycles to overtake gas motorcycles on the road, the future of the electric motorcycle industry looks brighter, cleaner, and safer.
