The NHTSA is considering whether anti-locking braking systems (ABS) should become a mandatory component to new motorcycles on American roads. ABS has certainly become an increasingly prevalent optional feature on street bikes, with sportbikes just recently catching onto the trend.

Honda first released the VFR Interceptor with ABS back in 2002, and both BMW and Honda released bikes with optional ABS this year. We’ve also seen other safety features from cars finding their way into motorcycles, with integrated airbags in leather suits, and bikes offering rear-wheel traction control systems.

To us, this seems like a logical extension of existing technology into motorcycles, but for the NHTSA this is more serious issue of climbing motorcycle crashes, as both more riders take to the streets, and new riders join the motorcycling ranks.