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Project Overview
Although motorcyclists account for less than 3% of road users, nationally they are involved in approximately one in every five fatal collisions. Bikers are also substantially over-represented in other serious collisions. However the motorcycle community is often extremely difficult to engage with on the subject of road safety; many feel they are above average riders so have no need of further training.
The iBiker apps for iPhone and Android were created to get the most at-risk and “off-the-radar” bikers to engage with a different form of education and training, where more traditional methods have proved ineffective.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
iBiker was originally funded by the Department for Transport and is currently owned by the Peninsula Motorcycle Forum (PMF). PMF, which is run by the Peninsula Road Safety partnership, was established in 2004 - born out of a desire to bring together both professional and non-professional motorcyclists committed to reducing road casualties, whilst actively encouraging the use of motorcycles on the roads of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. While PMF is based in the west country, iBiker is a nationwide initiative.
Compsoft have been specialising in mobile since 2009, having designed and developed web-based applications for many years prior. Compsoft combine stunning interface design with cutting edge development to deliver the best possible app for each customer. Our thirty-strong team lives and breathes mobile - we love nothing more than to apply our passion, creativity, skill and experience to each client’s individual requirement.
Project Brief
Those motorcyclists that are willing to engage in road safety are not normally the extreme violators of the laws of the road that we all see so often. The big challenge for iBiker was therefore how to effectively engage with an audience which, by its nature, would resent any attempt to “force-feed” road safety messages.
In order to solve this challenge iBiker was conceived as an app for bikers, by bikers. The iBiker route map enables users to plan and share their own routes, view and add points of interest (POIs) such as biker-friendly establishments and dangerous sections of road, and to view routes and POIs added by others. Bikers can also check a 5-day weather forecast for any route or area, and view rider-training videos.
A bespoke content management system (CMS) enables PMF to upload videos relating to routes and POIs, for instance police ride-through videos illustrating safe riding of treacherous routes. The CMS also enables PMF to send messages out to all users, including information on specific routes or places, and to add new videos and training content.
Recent enhancements to iBiker include the addition of First Aid videos, comprehensive maintenance reminders, emergency contact details, and advice on what to do in the event of a crash.
Project Need
iBiker is the only app to provide video footage of identified popular but high risk roads, with commentaries to give bikers an advanced rider’s view of the route along, as well as safety and collision related advice. iBiker has had over 13,000 downloads to date.
Bikers tend to support and raise money for air ambulance charities in the unspoken acceptance that they/their friends may have need of an air ambulance at some point, as the best roads to ride are in remote rural locations. For that reason the app also includes first aid information, ICE details (In Case of Emergency), a location finder, and other useful sections where details such as servicing and MOT dates can be stored. There are also a number of high quality advanced rider skills videos to give expert guidance to bikers.
User Experience
Users can easily navigate to the various areas of the app via a bespoke horizontal scrolling menu. The first option presented is the Route Map, enabling the user to go directly to the primary feature with a single tap. In any area of the app the user can drill down to further explore content, with the Home menu always just a single tap away.
Instructional videos are streamed in order to keep the app size to a minimum. However First Aid videos are stored on device so they are always available regardless of data connection.
The app design uses a dark theme intended to appeal to bikers, without identifying with any particular bike brand. Users are also able to personalise the look of their app by replacing the iBiker background road graphic with a picture of their own, for instance their bike.
Inline help is provided on screens where assistance may be required, for instance explaining how to add a new route on the map by dropping pins. User registration is not required immediately, so the user can immediately explore the app. The user is informed where a feature requires registration.
During the specification and design phase Compsoft worked closely with the project stakeholders, including a focus group from the biking community, to ensure the app was both relevant and easy to understand for a broad cross-section of bikers.
Project Marketing
Although iBiker has always been designed and owned by local authorities and emergency services, it has never been branded with their logos or details. The app is currently owned by the Peninsula Motorcycle Forum (PMF), which is run by the Peninsula Road Safety partnership. The app has been marketed as a commercial product and bikers feel it is a useful tool and not a road safety product.
To get bikers to engage with the product James Toseland, a world Superbike champion, was brought in to front the marketing of the app. All of the marketing materials and promotion of the app is kept firmly away from the boring local authority image, and is promoted through the website and through articles in respected bikers’ magazines such as Motorcycle News.
iBiker also engages with bikers directly through in-app messaging, YouTube videos and via Facebook and Twitter pages. The social media accounts are run by an ex-police motorcyclist with the remit of engaging with all motorcyclists; police bikers are respected across the biker community, even by those bikers who are extreme violators.
Project Privacy
Anyone may use the app anonymously unless they wish to publicly share routes, points of interest or add comments, in which case they must register. Registration requires the user to enter their email address and password, which are then authenticated against the CMS whenever the user logs in. Once registered, the user may log in to the app from any device. Registered users can also update their profile (re-entry of password required).
When creating routes or POIs users can choose whether to keep any them private or share with the rest of the iBiker community. When sharing content publicly, a user’s screen name is the only personal information shown to others. A user can also add ratings and comments to other users’ routes and points of interest; this function is policed by the iBiker community, with users able to report inappropriate content for moderation by PMF. PMF are able to email a user directly with regard to inappropriate content, and if required, prevent a user from publishing further content.
All user and administrator details are securely stored in the CMS - passwords are hashed and salted for secure authentication, and the CMS may only be accessed with the administrator credentials.
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