Stunt riding has always been a dangerous sport due to its extreme nature. Stunt riders face many challenges, such as the risk of crashing, finding safe riding locations, staying aware of fellow riders, and ensuring someone is notified in case of an emergency.
How might we minimise the dangers of stunt-riding and inform the community about their safety?
To truly understand a community, it's essential to experience what their day-to-day life looks like. Tagging along and interacting with riders face-to-face was the most effective way for me to gain meaningful insights. I reached out to a few friends who are part of the stunt-riding community and asked when their next group ride was planned. In return, I offered to be their photographer and document the experience. This proved to be a worthwhile investment of time and effort, as it allowed me to identify several common challenges riders face-such as difficulty keeping track of everyone in large groups, handling emergency situations, and dealing with unsuitable riding conditions. The experience also gave me the opportunity to meet more members of the community, many of whom were more than willing to participate in interviews at the end of the day.
The design process focused on creating an intuitive, safe, and community-driven experience for stunt riders. The following features were developed to address the core challenges identified during research.
Designed for quick and easy access during emergencies. Placed centrally on the screen because it's the first thing users see. Users can customise who the SOS alerts should go to, and a 3-second countdown timer allows accidental presses to be cancelled before the alert is sent.
Stay aware of the group during rides. Riders can create or join a party via "Invite Friends" or "Join." If someone falls too far behind, the app sends a notification using a unique vibration pattern, ideal for riders with phones in their pockets, so no one gets left behind.
Promotes safety and community. Riders can share verified safe stunt locations to reduce risky riding in traffic-heavy or dangerous areas. Users can also share general posts to build connections and exchange tips. Friends' posts appear on the home page, while the search page helps users explore more riders and tracks.