Despite their small numbers, motorcyclists face some of the highest risks on Britain’s roads. While they make up just 1% of vehicle traffic, they account for 21% of road deaths — and are over 40 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than someone travelling by car.
But despite “great strides” in road safety technology in recent years, shadow transport minister Greg Smith recently warned of a ‘crisis’ and urged the government to take extra measures such as including emergency crash notification systems as a safety requirement for motorbikes.
That’s where REALRIDER SOS, a motorcycle crash detection app developed by North East public safety tech company Realsafe Technologies, hopes to be part of the solution.
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“One of the challenges at the Department for Transport is the perception that, because there are fewer motorcyclists on the road, it’s simpler to focus elsewhere and concentrate on the bigger picture. Motorcycling isn’t going to go away anytime soon,” Steven Robertson, Chief Operating Officer at Realsafe Technologies, tells Prolific North.
“How many conversations are too many? Six families are dealing with their loved one’s death each week. It’s a really important conversation — and if anything makes our roads safer, particularly for vulnerable road users, it should be embraced.”
Founded in Gateshead in 2013 and now based in Sedgefield, County Durham, Realsafe Technologies initially set out to create an app that was almost like a “riding simulation”, helping motorcyclists improve their skills, from mastering corners to braking more safely.
Early conversations with North East Ambulance Service revealed a “much bigger picture” and presented an opportunity for the app to make a real impact on road safety.
“They quickly developed that idea into essentially what REALRIDER is today – an advanced crash detection app,” he explains.
The company recruited “brilliant brains” from the world of game design, using their knowledge of physics and motion to programme the app to detect not only rapid deceleration but also the tumbling motion consistent with a serious crash.
During those early discussions, the co-founders asked the ambulance service what the “secret sauce” would be to get help to a motorcyclist in danger as quickly as possible.
“They said: position, direction, and getting that signal to us fast. If we could provide those three things, it would make a real difference — and that’s exactly how the app was developed.”
But their ambition didn’t stop at the North East. The team were eyeing a full rollout within the national emergency services, with a mission to save even more lives.
How the app detects crashes and alerts the UK’s emergency services
Today, REALRIDER SOS is the UK government’s ‘only’ accredited motorcycle crash detection app integrated directly with the 999 emergency system. But the journey to get there was far from easy.
“The process took us two years of non-stop, back and forth testing and validation of the system,” he explains. “The critical concern was the possibility of false alerts – they didn’t want to have the risk of sending out expensive emergency resources if the situation didn’t require it.”
Through rigorous testing, the team proved a false alert activation rate of less than 1%, achieving the accuracy needed for full integration. Now, when the app detects a crash, the alert behaves “exactly like a 999 call”.
Explaining how it all works, he says the REALRIDER SOS app works in three stages: crash detection, to determine if an accident has happened; crash validation, to confirm whether the detected event is a genuine crash; and, if validated, whether an alert should be sent to emergency services.
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If a crash is detected and the alert isn’t turned off, the app will then automatically send a motorcyclist’s precise GPS location, time of crash, direction of travel, contact and medical details to the emergency services, who will then take over if it is an emergency.
Unlike smartwatches or other devices, which rely on family or friends to respond, a REALRIDER SOS app alert goes directly to the emergency operator, which he says “dramatically reduces response times”.
All users need is mobile network coverage and the app now operates globally in the UK, Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia.
“We have great global coverage and we do work with a couple of additional providers. So if riders are regularly roaming in black spots, we partner with a company called Anywhere eSIM.
If you’re out of signal, it will look for the most appropriate operator, so your signal will get through if something happens.”
The business also partners with Bivy Stick, a satellite communication device for adventure bike riders that may be up in the mountains with very low signal.
“We’ve pretty much got a solution for any kind of riding situation,” he says.
Scaling up and looking ahead
Looking back on the app’s impact, Robertson points to stories that highlight how the technology has helped in the rescue of bikers following crashes, who might otherwise have been left waiting for emergency services for hours.
The next phase of growth is about scaling the app up to 5,000 users while continuing to partner with even more tech firms to integrate the crash detection solution into their broader products.
Beyond the app itself, Realsafe Technologies now has eight staff and is eyeing hiring more staff as the “business scales”.
And with international ambitions with partners in the US and Australia, he emphasises the importance of keeping the company headquartered in the North East.
“It’s where the company was born and developed. None of us have any desire to take the business away from here. The wonders of the internet means we can now operate nationally or globally at a moment’s notice. There aren’t any barriers for us when it comes to scaling or communicating.”
Beyond expansion, he is clear on the company’s mission to “do some good” in continuing to shout about the importance of road safety.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way – it’s a bit of a cliche, isn’t it?” he laughs. “But if we can create a ‘committee’ of the willing, as it were, to get involved in this broader conversation around road safety, I would be delighted to wave that banner and bring more people together.”
And the timing couldn’t be more “critical”, particularly with changes to the Department for Transport’s recently published Road Safety Strategy, which aims to hit a 65% reduction in deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 2035.
“Any intervention that we can make to speed up these processes, I think, has great value,” he says.
