20.500.12556/DKUM-93563 Overview of the Patents and Patent Applications on Upper Guardrail Protection Systems for Motorcyclists Upright-posture motorcycle crashes against steel safety barriers (SSBs) often result in severe upper-body injuries due to the sharp upper edge of the rail. While solutions for sliding crashes on curves, called a ‘motorcyclist-friendly barrier’, are already implemented in practice, protective measures for upright-posture impacts remain underdeveloped. This study systematically reviews patents and patent applications addressing upper guardrail protection for motorcyclists. We identified and analysed a small number of existing innovations aimed at mitigating the consequences of upright crashes. The selected solutions were evaluated according to their technical design, ease of installation, potential for recycling, environmental compatibility, and expected costs. Our comparative analysis reveals that while some patents or patent applications offer promising features, such as flexible caps, bent plates, or modular attachments, none comprehensively address all safety, environmental, and economic requirements. The findings provide a basis for further development of motorcyclist-friendly SSB designs and suggest specific criteria that should be included in future guidelines and standard updates. motorcyclist safety steel safety barriers upright-posture crash motorcycle-friendly barrier roadside safety protective barrier design road infrastructure injury prevention patent analysis cestna infrastruktura varnost cestnega prometa prometna varnost motociklisti varnost motociklistov zaščitne ograje patenti analiza patentov true false true MDPI Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik https://www.mdpi.com/journal/infrastructures © 2025 by the authors. Članek v reviji 2025-07-02 13:32:32 2025-07-02 13:36:23 2025-07-03 03:11:15 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 str. 1-16 Vol. 10 iss. 7 July 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2025-04-18 2025-06-23 2025-06-30 625.745.5:656.186 241045507 10.3390/infrastructures10070165 2412-3811 infrastructures-10-00165-v2.pdf infrastructures-10-00165-v2.pdf 1 83F82AAE5C6F673DC8235C93AEC9CA22 0c49314a9f989c38103313829069304fd36ad3223822c4e11532fbf2119fd316 4f3ae6ce-5738-11f0-bb83-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=193148 https://www.mdpi.com/2412-3811/10/7/165 1 3f4dc32e-5738-11f0-bb83-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=193147 Fakulteta za gradbeništvo, prometno inženirstvo in arhitekturo 0 0 0