Phone app scoops top award

This year’s Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for motorcycling has gone to crash detection phone app RealRider.

The award was presented to RealRider founders Zoe Farrington and Andrew Richardson by Prince Michael at a ceremony at London’s Savoy Hotel.

The app uses sensors and the GPS on a rider’s smartphone to monitor for a crash situation, and RealRider’s call centre tries to contact the rider if it detects an accident. If the rider doesn’t respond, RealRider calls for an ambulance and provides the crashed rider’s location.

John Rowlands from the North East Ambulance Service, who worked on the RealRider pilot scheme, said: “RealRider allows is to locate patients in potentially life-threatening situations with speed and accuracy, which is vitally important in saving lives.”

Previous winners of the Prince Michael Road Safety Motorcycling award include the Government’s SHARP helmet rating scheme and the police-run BikeSafe rider assessment programme.

There’s a £25 annual subscription to use the RealRider app. For more details, visit www.realrider.com