Development of a Chinese Motorcycle Rider Driving Violation Questionnaire

The primary purpose of this study was to develop a self-report questionnaire to assess the driving violations of Chinese motorcycle riders and evaluate its screening accuracy between accident-involved and accident-free motorcycle riders. A Chinese Motorcycle Rider Driving Violation (CMRDV) scale, consisting of 19 items, was developed and administered to a sample of motorcycle riders (n = 920). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution, which supported the theoretical premise that there are two types of driving violations, aggressive violations and ordinary violations, and that they also apply to motorcycle riders. Cronbach's alpha for these two sub-scales was between 0.876 and 0.914. The test-retest reliability was satisfactory with intra-class correlations of individual item scores ranging from 0.729 to 0.891. Respondents with a past history of active accidents scored significantly high than those without (p < 0.0001). Overall, the area under the ROC curve was 0.715 (p < 0.0001, 95% CI 0.670-0.760) at a cutoff score of 30.5 with sensitivity of 0.706 and specificity of 0.610. The results indicated that the CMRDV questionnaire was valid and reliable for measuring the driving violations of Chinese motorcycle riders.     

The visual search patterns and hazard responses of experienced and inexperienced motorcycle riders

Hazard perception is a critical skill for road users. In this study, an open-loop motorcycle simulator was used to examine the effects of motorcycle riding and car driving experience on hazard perception and visual scanning patterns. Three groups of participants were tested: experienced motorcycle riders who were experienced drivers (EM-ED), inexperienced riders/experienced drivers (IM-ED), and inexperienced riders/inexperienced drivers (IM-ID). Participants were asked to search for hazards in simulated scenarios, and click a response button when a hazard was identified. The results revealed a significant monotonic decrease in hazard response times as experience increased from IM-ID to IM-ED to EM-ED. Compared to the IM-ID group, both the EM-ED and IM-ED groups exhibited more flexible visual scanning patterns that were sensitive to the presence of hazards. These results point to the potential benefit of training hazard perception and visual scanning in motorcycle riders, as has been successfully demonstrated in previous studies with car drivers.     

Are formally trained motorcyclists safer?

The present study was conducted to determine whether graduates of the Motorcycle Training Program (MTP) were less likely to have had an accident or committed a traffic violation while riding a motorcycle compared to informally trained (IT) motorcyclists. Since motorcyclists could not be randomly assigned to the training program, multivariate analyses were used to impose statistical control on the data. Samples of MTP graduates (N = 811) and IT motorcyclists (N = 1080) were interviewed about their riding experiences during the past four years including accidents and violations. Univariate analyses indicated that the MTP graduates were less likely than IT riders to have had accidents and violations during the criterion period. However, the graduates and IT riders differed in sex, age, time licensed, distance travelled, education and riding after drinking, all characteristics significantly related to accident and violation likelihood. Multivariate analyses, controlling for the differences in these characteristics, revealed that the MTP graduates and IT riders did not differ in accident likelihood but the MTP graduates were significantly less likely to have committed a traffic violation than the IT riders. Although the lower incidence of traffic violations among graduates could be attributed to the training program, it is possible that the graduates sought formal training because they were safety conscious and this attitude also influenced their riding behaviour.     

Survival hazards of road environment factors between motor-vehicles and motorcycles

Motorcycles are frequently used in middle- and low-income societies. They are often involved in crashes, and account for a noticeable percentage of fatalities secondary to crashes. Comparing motor-vehicle occupants and motorcycle riders, the present study examined the survival hazard of crash injuries with respect to road environmental factors (i.e., area, road type, and location). We investigated the effects of such factors on survival and survival time after crashes via a binary logistic regression analysis and a Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, respectively. Results indicated that, for both motor-vehicle occupants and motorcycle riders, the fatal prevalence, occurrence likelihood, and risk based on time were decreased in urban areas and elevated on highways. The three indexes were also higher for motor-vehicle occupants on non-straight or non-level roadway sections. The prevalence of death on local roads and at intersections was relatively higher for motorcycle riders compared to motor-vehicle occupants. Speed may contribute to the survival hazard with respect to road environment factors. Speed management initiatives account for hazardous roadway, curve alignment re-examination, and increased traffic enforcement density are suggested. Collaboration among the roadway authorities, vehicle industry, and medical systems for a timely rescue is also advised. In addition, the attention to crashes at intersections and on local roads is a promising intervention for motorcycle riders.     

Do accident-involved drivers exhibit riskier everyday driving behavior?

For more than forty years researchers have tried to relate traffic accident involvement to how an individual normally drives. Such efforts have not hitherto discovered clear effects. This study establishes statistically significant relations between prior involvement in accidents and an observed characteristic of every day driving. The observed driving characteristic is following headway in high flow freeway traffic, defined as the time interval between a vehicle and the preceding vehicle in the same lane. This headway is interpreted as a measure of driver risk. It is found that accident-involved drivers are more likely to follow with short headways (less than 1 s) than accident-free drivers. A similar effect is found in comparing drivers with and without traffic violations.     

Alcohol use and motorcycle accidents

An investigation of 1508 of the 1577 fatal and injury producing motorcycle accidents reported to Victoria police during 1974 revealed that alcohol usage was a significant factor. A similar result was indicated by five other Australian studies which report on post-mortem examinations of fatally injured motorcycle riders. Alcohol affected riders were significantly over represented in fatal and single vehicle accidents. The majority of killed riders had blood alcohol levels typical of problem drinkers. Motorcycle riders had similar blood alcohol levels to a comparable group of drinking car drivers but a significantly lower proportion of killed motorcycle riders were affected by alcohol than killed car drivers. Motorcycle riders affected by alcohol were mainly younger than twenty-five years of age, but this was probably due to the youthfulness of the motorcycle riding population.     

The role of alcohol in Thailand motorcycle crashes

In order to identify motorcycle accident cause factors and countermeasures in Thailand, a large prospective study was undertaken. Researchers conducted on-scene, in-depth investigation and reconstruction of 969 collisions involving 1082 motorcycle riders. Accidents were randomly sampled and included all levels of injury severity. Alcohol proved to be the most outstanding cause factor, with 393 drinking riders in crashes. Alcohol accidents were distinctly different from non-alcohol crashes. Alcohol accidents were more frequent on weekends and particularly at night, usually when the rider was on his way home. Drinking riders were more likely to lose control of the motorcycle, usually by running off the road. They were more likely to be in a single vehicle accident, to violate traffic control signals, and to be in non-intersection collisions. Males were far more likely to drink and ride than females. Drinking riders were far more likely to be inattentive to the driving task just before they crashed, and to be the primary or sole cause of the accident. One-fourth of all riders did not go to the hospital, and another 42% needed only treatment in the emergency room. Drinking riders were more likely to be hospitalized and far more likely to be killed. The higher hospitalization and fatality rates of drinking riders resulted from the kinds of accidents in which they were involved, not from the minimal differences in speeds and helmet use. Problems with balance and coordination were about equally rare among drinking and non-drinking riders. Inattention was a far greater contributing factor.     

Self-reported motorcycle riding behaviour among school children in India

Studies on traffic accidents among underage users of motorcycles are seldom seen in literature. This study was done in Yamunanagar, India where boys as young as 8 years ride motorcycles. It attempts to find out the behavioural and non-behavioural factors leading to motorcycle use and the predisposition to accidents among male school children aged between 10 and 16 years. A questionnaire was used to evaluate those factors among 1760 subjects in 38 schools. Fifteen percent of subjects had had an accident while riding motorcycle. Most of the behavioural and all the non-behavioural factors have a statistically significant influence on accident proneness. Aggressive behaviour and previous encounter with the police are the two strong predictors of accidents (p<0.001). Children as riders are exposed to higher risks of accident and longer life with disability. It also explains how these children behaviourally take up adult roles and seek adult risk taking attitudes. The implications of child motorcycle riders upon children themselves and on the society are discussed for a greater discourse on road safety motorcycle riding policy and to highlight the behavioural and non-behavioural factors that are associated with traffic accidents.     

A simulator study investigating how motorcyclists approach side-road hazards

The most common form of motorcycle collision in the UK occurs when another road user fails to give way and pulls out from a side road in front of an oncoming motorcyclist. While research has considered these collisions from the car driver's perspective, no research to date has addressed how motorcyclists approach these potential hazards. This study conducted a detailed analysis of motorcyclist speed and road position on approach to side-roads in a simulated suburban setting. Novice, Experienced and Advanced riders rode two laps of a simulated route, encountering five side-roads on each lap. On the second lap, a car emerged from the first side-road in a typical ‘looked but failed to see’ accident scenario. Three Experienced riders and one Novice rider collided with the hazard. The Advanced rider group adopted the safest strategy when approaching side-roads, with a lane position closer to the centre of the road and slower speeds. In contrast, Experienced riders chose faster speeds, often over the speed limit, especially when approaching junctions with good visibility. Rider behaviour at non-hazard junctions was compared between laps, to investigate if riders modified their behaviour after experiencing the hazard. Whilst all riders were generally more cautious after the hazard, the Advanced riders modified their behaviour more than the other groups after the hazard vehicle had pulled out. The results suggest that advanced training can lead to safer riding styles that are not acquired by experience alone.     

Factors contributing to young moped rider accidents in Denmark

Young road users still constitute a high-risk group with regard to road traffic accidents. The crash rate of a moped is four times greater than that of a motorcycle, and the likelihood of being injured in a road traffic accident is 10–20 times higher among moped riders compared to car drivers. Nevertheless, research on the behaviour and accident involvement of young moped riders remains sparse.Based on analysis of 128 accident protocols, the purpose of this study was to increase knowledge about moped accidents. The study was performed in Denmark involving riders aged 16 or 17. A distinction was made between accident factors related to (1) the road and its surroundings, (2) the vehicle, and (3) the reported behaviour and condition of the road user. Thirteen accident factors were identified with the majority concerning the reported behaviour and condition of the road user. The average number of accident factors assigned per accident was 2.7. Riding speed was assigned in 45% of the accidents which made it the most frequently assigned factor on the part of the moped rider followed by attention errors (42%), a tuned up moped (29%) and position on the road (14%). For the other parties involved, attention error (52%) was the most frequently assigned accident factor. The majority (78%) of the accidents involved road rule breaching on the part of the moped rider.The results indicate that preventive measures should aim to eliminate violations and increase anticipatory skills among moped riders and awareness of mopeds among other road users. Due to their young age the effect of such measures could be enhanced by infrastructural measures facilitating safe interaction between mopeds and other road users.     

Effects of alcohol impairment on motorcycle riding skills

Alcohol intoxication is a significant risk factor for fatal traffic crashes; however, there is sparse research on the impairing effects of alcohol on skills involved in motorcycle control. Twenty-four male motorcycle riders between the ages of 21 and 50 were assessed on a test track with task scenarios based on the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's (MSF) training program. A balanced incomplete block design was used to remove confounding artifacts (learning effects) by randomizing four BAC levels across three test days. In general, intoxicated riders demonstrated longer response times and adopted larger tolerances leading to more task performance errors. Most of the alcohol effects were evident at the per se 0.08% alcohol level, but some of the effects were observed at the lower 0.05% alcohol level. The effects of alcohol on motorcycle control and rider behavior were modest and occurred when task demand was high (offset weave), time pressure was high (hazard avoidance for near obstacles), and tolerances were constrained (circuit track). The modest effects may be due to the study design, in which experienced riders performed highly practiced, low-speed tasks; alcohol at these levels may produce larger effects with less experienced riders in more challenging situations.     

Age, skill, and hazard perception in driving

This study examined the effects of age and driving experience on the ability to detect hazards while driving; namely, hazard perception. Studies have shown that young-inexperienced drivers are more likely than experienced drivers to suffer from hazard perception deficiencies. However, it remains to be determined if this skill deteriorates with advancing age. Twenty-one young-inexperienced, 19 experienced, and 16 elderly drivers viewed six hazard perception movies while connected to an eye tracking system and were requested to identify hazardous situations. Four movies embedded planned, highly hazardous, situations and the rest were used as control. Generally, experienced and older-experienced drivers were equally proficient at hazard detection and detected potentially hazardous events (e.g., approaching an intersection, pedestrians on curb) continuously whereas young-inexperienced drivers stopped reporting on hazards that followed planned, highly hazardous situations. Moreover, while approaching T intersections older and experienced drivers fixated more towards the merging road on the right while young-inexperienced drivers fixated straight ahead, paying less attention to potential vehicles on the merging road. The study suggests that driving experience improves drivers’ awareness of potential hazards and guides drivers’ eye movements to locations that might embed potential risks. Furthermore, advanced age hardly affects older drivers’ ability to perceive hazards, and older drivers are at least partially aware of their age-related limitations.     

Validation of the motorcycle operator skill test

This study's aim was to determine what demographic and experiential factors are related to scores on the Motorcycle Operator Skill Test. It was expected that the greater the riding experience and training, the higher would be the skill scores. Applicants for a motorcycle operator's licence were administered a questionnaire and the Skill Test prior to taking the licensing test. The questionnaire and skill data for those applicants passing the licensing test were analyzed and it was found that skill was greater among the more experienced riders (i.e. miles ridden motorcycle) but unexpectedly it was lower among training course graduates. Also, males performed better than females and younger motorcyclists performed better than older motorcyclists. Further analyses revealed that course graduates had less skill than untrained riders even when experience differences were controlled. The implications of the present data for the effectiveness of motorcycle training courses are discussed.     

A study of reported injury accidents among novice motorcycle riders in a Scottish region

A study is reported of the effect of sex, age, cubic capacity, and training on the rate of reported injury accidents in a cohort of 304 first time learner motorcycle riders resident in the Lothian and Borders of Scotland in 1983. Motorcycle in this paper includes all types of registerable two wheeled motor vehicle. Injury accidents as reported by the police were observed in this cohort over an average period of one year. The overall reported injury accident rate within the cohort was 8.2 per hundred riders. This rate does not seem to be markedly different to the Scottish rate for all riders. It was found that the cubic capacity of the motorcycle was the single most important risk factor of the four studied. The risk was disproportionately high in the 200+ cc category. Lower reported injury accident rates were observed for females and trained riders but these differences did not reach statistical significance mainly due to the low numbers of these two categories within the cohort. Contrary to popular assumption, younger riders within this cohort did not have higher injury accidents. A large proportion of the riders who had been involved in injury accidents within the cohort and who had registered 50 cc motorcycles were found to be riding higher capacity (mainly 200+ cc) motorcycles at the time of accident. There was a very low uptake of motorcycle training (7.3%) by the cohort. Approximately 15% of the cohort was female, a higher percentage than those reported by other studies.     

Video-based road commentary training improves hazard perception of young drivers in a dual task

This study used a video-based hazard perception dual task to compare the hazard perception skills of young drivers with middle aged, more experienced drivers and to determine if these skills can be improved with video-based road commentary training. The primary task required the participants to detect and verbally identify immediate hazard on video-based traffic scenarios while concurrently performing a secondary tracking task, simulating the steering of real driving. The results showed that the young drivers perceived fewer immediate hazards (mean = 75.2%, n = 24, 19 females) than the more experienced drivers (mean = 87.5%, n = 8, all females), and had longer hazard perception times, but performed better in the secondary tracking task. After the road commentary training, the mean percentage of hazards detected and identified by the young drivers improved to the level of the experienced drivers and was significantly higher than that of an age and driving experience matched control group. The results will be discussed in the context of psychological theories of hazard perception and in relation to road commentary as an evidence-based training intervention that seems to improve many aspects of unsafe driving behaviour in young drivers.     

Motorcycling experience and hazard perception

Studies of hazard perception skills in car drivers suggest that the ability to spot hazards improves with driving experience. Is this the case with motorcyclists? Sixty-one motorcyclists, split across three groups (novice, experienced and advanced riders) were tested on a hazard perception test containing video clips filmed from the perspective of a motorcyclist. Response times to hazards revealed that the advanced riders (who had completed an advanced riding course) were the fastest, and the experienced riders were the slowest to respond to hazards, with novice riders falling in-between. Advanced riders were also found to make more internal attributions regarding the causes of the hazards than novice riders (though on a general measure of Locus of Control there was no difference between groups). The results demonstrate a link between advanced training and motorcycling hazard perception skill, but raise important concerns about the effects of mere experience on rider safety. This challenges previous conceptions that simply extrapolated from our understanding of the hazard perception skills of car drivers to this particularly vulnerable group of road users.     

Equine road user safety: public attitudes, understandings and beliefs from a qualitative study in the United Kingdom

Horse riders represent a significant group of vulnerable road user and are involved in a number of accidents and near misses on the road. Despite this horse riders have received little attention both in terms of academic research and transport policy. Based on literature on vulnerable road user safety, including attitudes to road user safety and behaviour of drivers and their relationship with cyclists and motorcyclists, this paper examines the attitudes and reported behaviour of drivers and horse riders. A total of 46 participants took part in six focus groups divided into four groups of drivers with little or no horse riding experience and two groups of frequent horse riders. Each group investigated five key topic areas stemming from the literature review on vulnerable road users including hazard perception, risk perception, emotion, attitudes to sharing the road and empathy. It was found that drivers and horse riders are not always aware of the same hazards in the road and that this may lead drivers to under-estimate the risk when encountering horses. Drivers often had good intentions to overtake horses safely, but were unaware of how vulnerable passing very wide and slow made them feel until they had begun the manoeuvre and hence quickly reduced such feelings either by speeding up or cutting in too soon. However, other than this, drivers had good skills when encountering horses. But these skills could be impeded by frustration when encountering a slow moving horse which was further compounded by a feeling, mainly by younger drivers, that horse riding was for leisure and as such should not get in the way of necessary work journeys. There is a need for drivers to be more aware of the potential hazards a horse rider faces on the road and these could be achieved through inducing empathy amongst drivers for horse riders, creating nudges for drivers in the environment and better education for drivers.     

Equine road user safety: Public attitudes,understandings and beliefs from a qualitative study in the United Kingdom

Horse riders represent a significant group of vulnerable road user and are involved in a number of accidents and near misses on the road. Despite this horse riders have received little attention both in terms of academic research and transport policy. Based on literature on vulnerable road user safety, including attitudes to road user safety and behaviour of drivers and their relationship with cyclists and motorcyclists, this paper examines the attitudes and reported behaviour of drivers and horse riders. A total of 46 participants took part in six focus groups divided into four groups of drivers with little or no horse riding experience and two groups of frequent horse riders. Each group investigated five key topic areas stemming from the literature review on vulnerable road users including hazard perception, risk perception, emotion, attitudes to sharing the road and empathy. It was found that drivers and horse riders are not always aware of the same hazards in the road and that this may lead drivers to under-estimate the risk when encountering horses. Drivers often had good intentions to overtake horses safely, but were unaware of how vulnerable passing very wide and slow made them feel until they had begun the manoeuvre and hence quickly reduced such feelings either by speeding up or cutting in too soon. However, other than this, drivers had good skills when encountering horses. But these skills could be impeded by frustration when encountering a slow moving horse which was further compounded by a feeling, mainly by younger drivers, that horse riding was for leisure and as such should not get in the way of necessary work journeys. There is a need for drivers to be more aware of the potential hazards a horse rider faces on the road and these could be achieved through inducing empathy amongst drivers for horse riders, creating nudges for drivers in the environment and better education for drivers.     

Motorcycle riders' perception of helmet use: complaints and dissatisfaction

In accidents which involve two-wheeled vehicles the helmet plays a life-saving role, but very little is known about the motorcycle rider's perception of the helmet. We evaluated the relationships between having been involved in an accident and dissatisfaction with the helmet, and between the perception of motorcycle riders and the objective features of the helmet. This was a case-control study: riders of motorized two-wheelers who had been involved in accidents (accident cases) were compared against a similarly interviewed sample of riders that had not been in accidents (control cases). Information about the driver, the vehicle and the helmet was collected in all interviews. To evaluate the relationships, logistic regressions were carried out. The majority of drivers were dissatisfied with their helmets, but no evidence was found to link this dissatisfaction with having been involved in an accident. The two most common complaints related to noisiness, followed by the helmet visor. Complaints did not seem to be statistically associated with physical features of the helmet.     

Risk factors for fatal road traffic accidents in Udine, Italy.

In the Province of Udine, Northeast Italy, mortality from road accidents is 37% higher than in the country as a whole. To identify the major risk factors for fatal crashes in this area, we analyzed the Police reports of 10,320 road traffic accidents that occurred from 1991 to 1996. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of characteristics of drivers and accidents with accident severity. The risk of involvement in fatal rather than non-fatal accidents was lower among females than among males (odds ratio (OR) = 0.65; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.53-0.80). Compared with subjects < 30 years of age, subjects aged > or = 65 had a significantly increased risk of fatal injury as pedestrians (OR = 10.87; 95% CI, 4.45-26.54), car drivers (OR = 1.85; 95% CI, 1.08-3.18), moped riders (OR = 3.53; 95% CI, 1.42-8.78), and bicycle riders (OR = 7.72; 95% CI, 2.56-23.29). In accidents that occurred from 1:00 to 5:00 h the risk of death was higher than from 6:00 to 11:00 h among pedestrians (OR = 8.88; 95% CI, 2.58-30.52), car drivers (OR = 4.95; 95% CI, 3.09-7.95), motorcycle riders (OR = 13.44; 95%CI, 2.54-71.05) and moped riders (OR = 8.76; 95% CI, 2.42-31.69). Risk of death among pedestrians, car drivers, moped, and bicycle riders was also significantly increased on roads outside the urban center. Driver's injury was strongly associated with lack of use of seat belts (OR = 13.27; 95% CI, 9.39-18.74, for fatal injury; OR = 2.49; 95% CI, 2.17-2.86, for non-fatal injury). Simple interventions focused on protecting the weakest road users and based on law enforcement, behavioral change and environmental modification might result in reducing the significant excess of road traffic accident mortality found in the study area.