Honda, Yamaha and BMW yesterday announced they’re working on technology to warn motorcyclists of hazards on the road.

The three manufacturers are collaborating to evaluate and develop systems that will allow bikes to communicate with other vehicles so riders have advanced warning of changing road conditions, accidents, and traffic behaviour.

The technology is called Cooperative-Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) and Honda, Yamaha and BMW’s collective endeavour is taking place under the name ‘Connected Motorcycle Consortium’.

They want other manufacturers to join them in developing the technology for motorcycles.

Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems is an umbrella term for technology that allows vehicles to communicate with each other and give road users early warning of hazards or conditions. Examples include vehicle-to-vehicle warning systems that can alert drivers of an impending collision. It raises the possibility of a system for warning drivers before they pull out on a motorcyclist at a junction.

Examples of ‘Intelligent Transport Systems’ include ‘Intelligent Speed Adaptation’. ISA refers to speed limiters that use GPS technology to restrict vehicles to the prevailing limit :wassat: , including automatically slowing them down if necessary. In 2006 the Department for Transport developed an ISA-equipped Suzuki Bandit 650 but the project was shelved.

It’s not clear exactly how C-ITS will be applied to motorcycles but a press release on the joint venture said it would differ to systems in cars. It said:

http://world.honda.com/news/2015/2151007eng.html

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Whatever about advances in traction/stability control and bosch’s new (aledgedly uncrashable) cornering ABS system for motorcycles, which all help you to go faster and stay safer when the shit hits the fan or you grab a handful of brake and panic etc., I think this GPS lark might be taking it a step too far, even for 20-50-100years time – something/one intervening in your bikes speed could become compulsory (esp. for built up areas) by an authoritarian oceania superstate by 2084 – and the only way out if is we nuke a few satellites and take out their global communications network.

Fuck google earth, sat navs, and sky tv, we got on well enough without them for thousands of years, 1 good shot at a geosynchronous satellite travelling 18,000mph could create a serious amount of shrapnel and space junk that nips this rubbish in the bud, or would they send out drones with 18,000 megapixel cameras over towns and cities then 😮

/ shit, here comes the

with me tablets..