The recent deaths of teenager racers Peter Lenz and Shoya Tomizawa have brought to light one of the last remaining safety challenges of motorcycle road racing, specifically downed riders being hit by fellow competitors.

I don’t have the empirical data, but I can tell you from my over 30 years of following road racing that the death rate among riders has dropped dramatically, especially in the last 10-15 years. The primary reason for safer racing is the attention to track specifications. Barriers have been moved back, run-off increased, gravel traps installed and soft barriers deployed. Track safety has improved to the point that a rider of 20 years ago would scarcely recognize many of the same tracks raced today. Most American circuits still need improving, but every year it a track removes a barrier, re-routes around hazardous sections and increases soft barrier footage.

In addition to tracks being infinitely safer, motorcycle technology has made race bikes much more controllable. Traction control, electronic engine management, improved tire wear, more powerful brakes, increased cornering clearance and chassis with greater road feel and quicker more stable handling have all made for fewer racers surpassing the performance capabilities of the motorcycle. Highsides have not been completely eliminated, but they’ve been greatly decreased.

Finally the gear that road racers wear today is light years beyond the simple thin leather suits and gloves of 20 years ago. Body armor, hand, feet and neck protection have gotten to the point that a simple lowside rarely results in injury, even at high speeds.

In talking with representatives of racing gear companies, riders in the future should enjoy even greater protections from their suits. Suits with integrated airbag technology are the most promising technology and early prototypes are already being used at the GP level.

Designing racing leathers with built-in airbags is no easy feat. The biggest challenge for engineers is trying to figure out the parameters to deploy the airbags. Unintended deployment could cause obvious problems for a speeding racer. In spite of the risks I would love to see testing continue. If perfected, airbags could potentially protect a riders head and body in the case of crashing in front of a pack of fellow competitors.

The danger of road racing will never be completely eliminated, but we should not be satisfied with the current state of the art in rider safety. Even though the sport is exponentially safer than it was even a decade or two ago, visionaries in the riding gear industry are working to someday give downed riders a much better chance of surviving being hit by fellow competitors.

Let’s hope the recent high-profile accidents will spur on development of these technologies and bring the next generation of racers unprecedented protection.

Here’s a link to a video showing some of the early racing leathers airbag technology.