Insurance company Sara Assicurazioni is partnering with Ride Vision to help reduce motorbike accidents in Italy using the Israeli startup’s patented AI-based (artificial intelligence) Collision Aversion Technology (CAT) predictive vision system.
Two-wheelers are the most vulnerable vehicles on the road, with motorcyclists 28 times more likely to die in an accident than a car occupant. The need to improve biker safety is paramount on a global scale, as increasing congestion in cities drives up motorcycle purchases. This trend has most notably taken hold in Italy, which, according to FEMA’s most recently available Motorcycle Safety and Accident report, contains over 6,500,000 motorcycles; the largest number in any European Union country. A survey by ACI-Istat revealed that 41,414 motorcycle accidents in Italy resulted in 755 fatalities and 49,447 injuries in 2018 alone.
Sara Assicurazioni and Ride Vision are collaborating to reduce these accidents and improve Italy’s overall road safety. Motorcyclists insured by Sara Assicurazioni could be eligible for significant discount on their annual premium when they retrofit their vehicles with Ride Vision’s system, which will take effect next year when the technology officially hits the Italian market. While insurer incentives do already exist in the automotive market, they have mostly focused on providing solutions for cars. The high occurrence of motorbike accidents has left this segment of the vehicular insurance industry markedly ripe for similar collaboration. The new partnership is unique precisely because it is the first of its kind to exclusively target this critical segment, with Ride Vision’s CAT being the first vehicular predictive system singularly tailored to motorcycles to enter the market.
Ride Vision has developed an Advanced Rider Assistance System (ARAS) that uses a predictive vision system to equip motorcyclists with low-cost threat alerts. The CAT system is a fusion of AI (Neural Networks) and computer vision designed to seamlessly integrate with the motorbikes, using standard cameras as visual sensors. CAT recognizes and analyzes relevant threats without disturbing the rider’s critical focus. Ride Vision’s ARAS also operates as a dashcam, allowing bikers and two-wheeler fleet operators to maintain evidence recording in case of an accident. Using standard hardware and cameras to sense, predict, and warn riders of threats on the road through 360-degrees, the Ride Vision system can be incorporated into any new or traded motorbikes of any price range.
“Our collaboration addresses an untreated segment of two-wheeler commuters and fleet operators to promote road safety,” said Uri Lavi, Ride Vision’s CEO and co-founder. “We’re confident that our agreement with Sara will bring innovation to an often-overlooked community and is a crucial step forward to reduce accidents.”
Alberto Tosti, general manager of Sara Assicurazioni, said, “Road safety has always been our main focus, and we’re now glad to start addressing the area of motorbikes where chances for an accident are higher. This is why we’re developing a promotional offer for Ride Vision retrofitted bikes.”
