Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Motorcyclists safety'

There is little research on off-road motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle riders though injury levels are high. This thesis identified formal responsibility for monitoring injuries, targeting young male and recreational riders, promotion of family members as models, and controlled and accessible riding locations as ways to increase safety. These recommendations were based on analysis of Queensland hospitalisation records, rider personal reports and survey responses.

Motorcycle riding is rapidly increasing in popularity in Australia, attracting a much wider demographic of people than in decades past. Unfortunately, whilst the overall road toll in Australia has generally been reducing, the proportion of motorcycle-related fatalities has been rising in recent years. Further, the proportion of motorcycle-related fatalities in Australia is unacceptably high compared to other OECD countries. To reduce motorcycle-related fatalities on Australian roads, there is an urgent need to consider motorcyclists as distinct from other road users. This program of research facilitates the understanding of safety issues from a motorcyclist perspective and provides important information on factors influencing safe and unsafe rider intentions and behaviour.----- Study 1 explored what motorcyclists thought about the issues relevant to safety and to risk-taking behaviour on a motorcycle. The aim of this study was to develop a better understanding of the factors which influence on-road riding behaviour. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), identity theory, social identity theory, and items based on moral norm and causal attribution theory, a set of questions was developed to guide focus group discussions with riders, police, rider trainers, and an advocacy group for motorcycle safety. Of the 43 participants in this study, only two were not motorcycle riders. This exploratory process revealed six common behaviours that most motorcyclists agreed were essential to safety or which related directly to riskier riding.----- Two behaviours were identified as being essential to rider safety by participants. The first was the necessity of being able to handle the motorcycle proficiently and skilfully. The second related to the need for riders to maintain a high level of concentration whilst riding and to stay aware of the changing road environment.----- The safety or riskiness of two other behaviours mentioned became a matter of debate amongst participants. First, some riders said that obeying the road rules was essential to their safety, whilst others reported that it was often necessary to break the road rules in order to stay safe. Second, the definition of what constituted 'riding whilst impaired' differed amongst riders. Most riders agreed that 'drinking and riding' was dangerous. However, for some, even one alcoholic drink before riding was considered dangerous, whilst others would ride after drinking provided they did not consider themselves to be over the legal BAC limit. Some riders stated that riding when they were tired was dangerous; however, fatigue was not considered a serious safety issue for many participants.----- Two further behaviours identified by participants were often associated with their accounts of crash involvement, yet not seen as intrinsically 'unsafe' by most riders. The first of these was the concept of 'pushing your limits'. Most riders interviewed appeared to enjoy pushing the limits of their ability on a motorcycle. Whilst agreeing that pushing the limits too far was dangerous, pushing them to a point that tested a rider's abilities was often reported to facilitate safety as this process developed a rider's skill. The second behaviour that was often mentioned in connection with crashes was extreme riding (e.g., performing stunts and riding at extreme speeds). The act of perfecting a stunt was often reported to result in the crashing of the motorcycle; although, these crashes were usually accepted as a normal part of the learning process. Once perfected, performing stunts did not appear to be considered an intrinsically unsafe behaviour; unless performed in traffic or other unpredictable situations. A sizable minority of both male and female participants reported riding at extreme speeds. These riders often argued that they could ride extremely fast, safely, on public roads provided certain conditions were met (e.g., good visibility, weather, road, and motorcycle maintenance).----- Study 2 [n = 229] operationalised the six behaviours discussed above into three 'safer' behavioural intentions (i.e., handle the motorcycle skilfully, maintain 100% awareness, not ride impaired) and three 'riskier' intentions (i.e., bend road rules, push the limits, perform stunts or ride at extreme speeds). A seventh item was added to provide a global measure of a rider's intention to ride safely. Multiple regression analyses were then performed to test the predictive utility of the TPB compared with several augmented models. The additional constructs used to augment the TPB included a specific subjective norm and group norm which related to the people a person rides with, self identity, sensation seeking, aggression as well as age, gender and riding exposure. The multiple regression analysis demonstrated that a greater proportion of variance could be explained in the case of the riskier riding intentions [R2 ranging from 57% - 66%] than the safer riding intentions [R2 ranging from 22% - 36%]. Therefore, this type of theoretical model may be better suited to investigating deliberate risk-taking intentions rather than an overall model of rider behaviour which includes errors and lapses or intentions to ride safely.----- In the final analyses, perceived behavioural control (PBC) proved to be a significant predictor of all four intentions towards the safer behaviours, and also towards intentions to "push my limits". Attitude was a significant predictor of the three riskier intentions. Although the standard subjective norm variable performed weakly, as it was only predictive of one intention, the specific subjective norm (i.e., the people that someone rides with) emerged as a significant predictor of four of the seven intention items and group norm was predictive of an additional intention item. This result indicates that the other people a person rides with may have a marked effect on behavioural intentions. Sensation seeking was found to be significantly related to four intentions, self identification as a safe or risky rider related to two intentions and a propensity for aggression was only significantly predictive of one intention.----- Study 2 did not find a significant relationship between the seven intentions and past crash history. However, correlational analyses found that people who had reported being involved in a serious crash in the past two years reported less PBC over their ability to ride as safely as possible and to perform stunts and/or ride at extreme speeds.----- In conclusion, this program of research provided insight into the issues riders feel are important to their safety, and has facilitated a greater understanding of the complexity of influences that impact on riding intentions and behaviour. The study also provided support for extending the traditional TPB model to include other measures of social influence, as well as person-related factors such as sensation seeking. The fact that PBC emerged as a predictor of five of the seven intentions suggests that there may be scope to enhance existing training practices to better address both safe and risky riding intentions. The influence of other riders also emerged as a strong influence on intentions, suggesting that strategies to address rider behaviour within the wider social context of riding may be a useful addition to future motorcycle safety or rider training initiatives. The social dynamics of motorcycle riding, within the context of road safety, is an area that clearly requires more investigation. Research into this area may provide the key to developing new approaches to promoting motorcycle safety which effectively integrate both the psychological and sociological aspects of riding; therefore, better reflecting the real challenges facing many riders on Australian roads today.

Motorcycle riding is rapidly increasing in popularity in Australia, attracting a much wider demographic of people than in decades past. Unfortunately, whilst the overall road toll in Australia has generally been reducing, the proportion of motorcycle-related fatalities has been rising in recent years. Further, the proportion of motorcycle-related fatalities in Australia is unacceptably high compared to other OECD countries. To reduce motorcycle-related fatalities on Australian roads, there is an urgent need to consider motorcyclists as distinct from other road users. This program of research facilitates the understanding of safety issues from a motorcyclist perspective and provides important information on factors influencing safe and unsafe rider intentions and behaviour.----- Study 1 explored what motorcyclists thought about the issues relevant to safety and to risk-taking behaviour on a motorcycle. The aim of this study was to develop a better understanding of the factors which influence on-road riding behaviour. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), identity theory, social identity theory, and items based on moral norm and causal attribution theory, a set of questions was developed to guide focus group discussions with riders, police, rider trainers, and an advocacy group for motorcycle safety. Of the 43 participants in this study, only two were not motorcycle riders. This exploratory process revealed six common behaviours that most motorcyclists agreed were essential to safety or which related directly to riskier riding.----- Two behaviours were identified as being essential to rider safety by participants. The first was the necessity of being able to handle the motorcycle proficiently and skilfully. The second related to the need for riders to maintain a high level of concentration whilst riding and to stay aware of the changing road environment.----- The safety or riskiness of two other behaviours mentioned became a matter of debate amongst participants. First, some riders said that obeying the road rules was essential to their safety, whilst others reported that it was often necessary to break the road rules in order to stay safe. Second, the definition of what constituted 'riding whilst impaired' differed amongst riders. Most riders agreed that 'drinking and riding' was dangerous. However, for some, even one alcoholic drink before riding was considered dangerous, whilst others would ride after drinking provided they did not consider themselves to be over the legal BAC limit. Some riders stated that riding when they were tired was dangerous; however, fatigue was not considered a serious safety issue for many participants.----- Two further behaviours identified by participants were often associated with their accounts of crash involvement, yet not seen as intrinsically 'unsafe' by most riders. The first of these was the concept of 'pushing your limits'. Most riders interviewed appeared to enjoy pushing the limits of their ability on a motorcycle. Whilst agreeing that pushing the limits too far was dangerous, pushing them to a point that tested a rider's abilities was often reported to facilitate safety as this process developed a rider's skill. The second behaviour that was often mentioned in connection with crashes was extreme riding (e.g., performing stunts and riding at extreme speeds). The act of perfecting a stunt was often reported to result in the crashing of the motorcycle; although, these crashes were usually accepted as a normal part of the learning process. Once perfected, performing stunts did not appear to be considered an intrinsically unsafe behaviour; unless performed in traffic or other unpredictable situations. A sizable minority of both male and female participants reported riding at extreme speeds. These riders often argued that they could ride extremely fast, safely, on public roads provided certain conditions were met (e.g., good visibility, weather, road, and motorcycle maintenance).----- Study 2 [n = 229] operationalised the six behaviours discussed above into three 'safer' behavioural intentions (i.e., handle the motorcycle skilfully, maintain 100% awareness, not ride impaired) and three 'riskier' intentions (i.e., bend road rules, push the limits, perform stunts or ride at extreme speeds). A seventh item was added to provide a global measure of a rider's intention to ride safely. Multiple regression analyses were then performed to test the predictive utility of the TPB compared with several augmented models. The additional constructs used to augment the TPB included a specific subjective norm and group norm which related to the people a person rides with, self identity, sensation seeking, aggression as well as age, gender and riding exposure. The multiple regression analysis demonstrated that a greater proportion of variance could be explained in the case of the riskier riding intentions [R2 ranging from 57% - 66%] than the safer riding intentions [R2 ranging from 22% - 36%]. Therefore, this type of theoretical model may be better suited to investigating deliberate risk-taking intentions rather than an overall model of rider behaviour which includes errors and lapses or intentions to ride safely.----- In the final analyses, perceived behavioural control (PBC) proved to be a significant predictor of all four intentions towards the safer behaviours, and also towards intentions to "push my limits". Attitude was a significant predictor of the three riskier intentions. Although the standard subjective norm variable performed weakly, as it was only predictive of one intention, the specific subjective norm (i.e., the people that someone rides with) emerged as a significant predictor of four of the seven intention items and group norm was predictive of an additional intention item. This result indicates that the other people a person rides with may have a marked effect on behavioural intentions. Sensation seeking was found to be significantly related to four intentions, self identification as a safe or risky rider related to two intentions and a propensity for aggression was only significantly predictive of one intention.----- Study 2 did not find a significant relationship between the seven intentions and past crash history. However, correlational analyses found that people who had reported being involved in a serious crash in the past two years reported less PBC over their ability to ride as safely as possible and to perform stunts and/or ride at extreme speeds.----- In conclusion, this program of research provided insight into the issues riders feel are important to their safety, and has facilitated a greater understanding of the complexity of influences that impact on riding intentions and behaviour. The study also provided support for extending the traditional TPB model to include other measures of social influence, as well as person-related factors such as sensation seeking. The fact that PBC emerged as a predictor of five of the seven intentions suggests that there may be scope to enhance existing training practices to better address both safe and risky riding intentions. The influence of other riders also emerged as a strong influence on intentions, suggesting that strategies to address rider behaviour within the wider social context of riding may be a useful addition to future motorcycle safety or rider training initiatives. The social dynamics of motorcycle riding, within the context of road safety, is an area that clearly requires more investigation. Research into this area may provide the key to developing new approaches to promoting motorcycle safety which effectively integrate both the psychological and sociological aspects of riding; therefore, better reflecting the real challenges facing many riders on Australian roads today.

Esta dissertação de mestrado se refere ao estudo investigativo dos fatores de risco e a influência destes na ocorrência de acidentes envolvendo motocicletas, segundo a percepção dos condutores profissionais. A área de estudo foi a cidade de Porto Alegre, cujo cenário buscou-se mapear através do levantamento do perfil da categoria profissional de motociclistas e da análise dos anuários estáticos de acidentes envolvendo motocicletas, ocorridos entre os anos de 2000 e 2008. A pesquisa foi estabelecida em duas etapas. A primeira refere-se à pesquisa qualitativa, realizada através de aplicação da técnica de Grupo Focado, para determinação dos fatores de risco. Ao passo que, na segunda fase, foram realizados 123 questionários com condutores profissionais de motocicleta, para levantamento do perfil e percepção destes quanto à influência de cada fator no risco de acidentes. O estudo mostrou que para alguns dos fatores identificados como, pressão por pontualidade da entrega e longa jornada de trabalho, os entrevistados foram tendenciosos ao afirmar que estes possuíam pouca ou nenhuma influência no risco de acidentes, resultado contrário ao apontado por outros estudos encontrados na literatura. Para os demais fatores, os condutores profissionais demonstraram conhecer bem o ambiente viário urbano, de forma a terem boa percepção sobre os riscos de sua atividade. A pesquisa identificou a desatenção por parte dos motoristas de outros veículos, a presença de chuva e a má qualidade da infra-estrutura viária como os fatores de maior influência no risco de acidente. Sendo as situações de trânsito de maior perigo as de tráfego em interseções e nas vias congestionadas. A análise das bases estatísticas identificou a necessidade de coletar informações sobre os motociclistas acidentados, de forma a explicitar o objetivo de viagem quando da ocorrência do sinistro, permitindo assim, identificar o percentual de condutores profissionais entre os motociclistas acidentados.
This master's dissertation refers to the study of risk factors, and its influence, on the occurrence of accidents involving motorcycles, according to the professional drivers’ perception. The study area was the city of Porto Alegre, whose scenery was mapped by surveying the profile of the professional category of motorcyclists, and by analysis of statistical directories of accidents involving motorcycles, occurred between the years 2000 and 2008. The research was established in two stages. The first one refers to the qualitative research, conducted by applying the technique of Focus Group for determining the risk factors. While in the second phase, 123 questionnaires were conducted with professional motorcyclists, to identify their profile and perception of how each factor influences the risk of accidents. The study has shown that for some of the risk factors indentified, such as pressure for punctuality and long hours of work, the respondents were biased in saying that they had little or no influence on the risk of accidents, contrary to the result reported by other studies found in the literature. For the other factors, professional drivers have demonstrated to know the urban road atmosphere well, in order to have good perception on the risks of their activity. The research has identified inattention by drivers of other vehicles, presence of rain and poor quality of road infrastructure as the factors of greatest influence on the risk of accidents. Traveling in crossing intersections and congested roads has been found as the most dangerous traffic situations. The statistical databases analysis has identified the need to collect information about the motorcycle accident victims in order to clarify the purpose of travel at the time of the accident, thus allowing, identifying the percentage of professional drivers among motorcyclists injured.

Abstract The main theme of this thesis is to discuss the specific conditions of motorcycles participation in traffic. Primarily the author of the processing of statistical data relating to road traffic accidents found the most frequent causes leading to the accident of motorcycles, set out a list of typical hazardous situations and provide an opportunity to prevent them, respectively propose the concrete steps for their reduction, while visual processing is done using by the Virtual CRASH software. Secondarily, it is then processed an overview by modern elements of active and passive safety of motorcycles and their effect on the reduction of traffic accidents, or reduce health risks as the consequences of road traffic accidents. Statistical data are then confronted with the subjective perception of participation in traffic, concretely with motorcycle riders. Their opinions are interpreted by the most frequent responses from the questionnaires, the results are included in the last part of this thesis. The objective of this work is in the comparison of both perspectives - statistical data and the opinions of motorcyclists - about the traffic situation in the Czech Republic. The result of this work is the more realistic view on the issue.

This thesis is a compendium of research from roadside, drinking bars, hospitals and police accident records in Ghana. The thesis investigated the natural prevalence of alcohol use among road users at these settings and the potential crash risk associated with this behavior. The research established that the prevalence of driving or operating a vehicle with elevated BAC above the legal limit was high. This was however underreported by the police. This research underscores the need for enhanced enforcement of the drink-driving law, and education of road users on responsible alcohol consumption among road users to improve upon road safety in Ghana.

Dans le cadre d'une politique publique presque universelle, la sécurité routière, cette thèse se consacre à une catégorie précise de conducteurs, les motocyclistes. Ceux-ci forment à la fois un groupe distinct d'usagers de la route, objet à ce titre de réglementations spécifiques, et, du moins quand ils sont et se considèrent comme motards, un groupe social. Dans les années 1970, au moment de son institutionnalisation, la politique de sécurité routière rencontre avec ces motards un problème inédit. La moto, disparue durant les années 1960, revient en effet massivement dans les rues avec de nouveaux, et jeunes, utilisateurs. Il lui faut alors inventer une façon de gérer le risque inédit qu'ils représentent, ce qu'elle fera en choisissant, parmi plusieurs options, une politique répressive dont on montrera comment elle a évolué jusqu'à nos jours, en la justifiant à l'aide de considérations morales et d'un appareillage statistique dont on montrera ce qu'il a d'inapproprié, de lacunaire et, parfois, de fictif.S'attaquant à un groupe social décidé à se défendre, cette politique va susciter une opposition organisée qui, au gré des alternances politiques, parviendra à en infléchir plus ou moins le cours, et formera toujours un adversaire avec lequel elle devra composer. Pour traiter un sujet de cet ordre il semble donc pertinent de s'appuyer sur la sociologie interactionniste, d'analyser de façon diachronique cette politique à partir de 1972, de l'étudier à divers échelons, de procéder enfin à des comparaisons diverses, entre États, entre capitales, mais aussi avec une politique publique qui traite de façon fort différente les utilisateurs d'un autre deux-roues, la bicyclette
This thesis is devoted to an aspect of road safety policy, an almost universal public policy, and to a particular category of drivers, namely motorcyclists. They represent both a distinct road users' group, subject as such to specific regulations, and, at least when there are and do consider themselves as motorcycle riders, a social group. When the French road safety policy was designed, in the early 70's, motorcyclists turned out to be an unexpected problem. After vanishing during the 60's, the motorcycle was back in large numbers with new and young users. The state therefore invented a way of dealing with the unprecedented risk they represented. Among several options, it chose a repressive policy whose evolution we will trace from the 1970s to today. This policy was grounded on moral justifications and strengthened by an inadequate, incomplete and sometimes fictitious statistical body.This policy endangered a social group ready to defend itself, thus creating an organized opposition able to reorientate it partially. To this day, motorcycles remain an opponent the state has to cope with. To deal with this subject, it seems relevant to use the findings of interactionist sociology and to analyse this policy from a diachronic point of view, starting in 1972. We will study this subject at different scales and proceed to various comparisons between countries or capitals. Furthermore, we'll see how it compares to public policy that deals, in a very different manner, with users of another two-wheel vehicle, the bicycle

The continuing use of self-report methods demands consideration of the validity, reliability, and utility of self-report in road safety research. This thesis assesses self-report issues with respect to four key constructs in motorcycle safety research—exposure, on-road behaviours, riding motivations, and perceived value in a sample of Australian novice motorcycle riders. In Study 1 a comprehensive set of statistical analyses was performed to test the validity and reliability of various self-report measures of riding exposure. In Study 2 and Study 3 previously untested psychometric properties of stability, content validity, and predictive validity of the Motorcycle Rider Behaviour Questionnaire and the Motorcycle Rider Motivation Questionnaire in terms of police-recorded offences and crashes as well as previously assessed factor structure, internal consistency, and predictive validity in terms of self-reported crashes were examined. In Study 4 I demonstrated the utility of a contingent valuation (CV) survey in measuring, understanding, and therefore addressing the perceived value of rider training amongst novice riders. The four studies highlight that the appropriateness of self-report depends on not only the nature of the phenomenon under study but the extent to which the factors that contribute to validity and reliability are accounted for in the design of self-report measures.

What if the emergency response directly knew exactly where to go and what to do if a road accident occured? During the last ten years the number of motorcyclists in Sweden has doubled. Every year, more than 300 riders are seriously injured and over 40 die in road accidents. Being found in time is critical to increase the chance of survival. The goal of this project is to use design methods to find a solution that enables a fast and adequate emergency response for motorcyclists and other unprotected road users.
Vad hade hänt om akutsjukvårdare direkt kände till var en olycka inträffat och vilken vårdinsats som behövdes? Under de senaste tio åren har antalet motorcyklister i Sverige fördubblats. Varje år skadas över 300 förare allvarligt, och över 40 omkommer i trafikolyckor. Att bli hittad i tid är kritiskt för att öka chansen för överlevnad. Målet med det här projektet är att med designmetoder hitta ett sätt att möjliggöra en snabb och adekvat räddningsinsats för motorcyklister och andra oskyddade motortrafikanter.

L’accidentalité des conducteurs de 2RM est au cœur des préoccupations de sécurité routière. Ce travail de thèse vise à apporter des connaissances sur les différences de sexe et de conformité aux stéréotypes de sexe au sein de cette communauté très masculine. Il a été montré que les femmes motocyclistes avaient des taux d’accidents corporels ou mortels bien inférieurs à ceux des hommes. Les résultats montrent que les comportements à risque accidentels des hommes et des femmes motocyclistes sont proches, hormis pour les comportements les plus risqués. Il a aussi été montré que le type de motocyclette avait un effet plus important que le sexe sur les comportements à risques accidentels. De plus, il a été montré que les motocyclistes se conforment aux stéréotypes de sexe qui leurs sont associés et que la masculinité renforce la prise de risque et la transgression des règles, cette relation étant expliquée par les motivations à conduire un 2RM. Enfin, ce travail a montré que les stéréotypes de sexe associés à la conduite d’une motocyclette existent déjà chez les adolescents dès 11 ans. Ce travail de thèse montre donc des différences significatives entre hommes et femmes conducteurs de 2RM, autant au niveau de leur accidentalité que de leurs prises de risque. De plus, des stéréotypes de sexe existent bien pour cette population spécifique d’usagers de la route. Ces travaux permettent d’avoir une connaissance plus fine des comportements des conducteurs de 2RM, et d’enrichir la réflexion sur des actions possibles en matière d’éducation routière, en ciblant les sous-populations les plus à risque chez les conducteurs de 2RM
The powered two-wheelers (PTW) riders’ accidentality is at the heart of road safety issues. This PhD thesis is part of a comprehensive approach to generate knowledge on sex differences and sex stereotypes conformity within this very masculine stereotyped community. It first showed that female motorcyclists have much lower injury crashes and fatalities rates than males. A first study showed that males declared more intentional risky behaviors and female more non-intentional risky behaviors. A second study showed that the PTW type chosen had a more important effect on the aberrant behaviors than sex. A third study showed that individuals who conformed to masculine stereotypes declared more violations than those who conformed to feminine stereotypes (declared more lapses), whatever their sex. Motivations to ride a PTW explaining this relation. Finally, this work showed that sex stereotypes associated with motorcycle riding already existed on the adolescent population, from the age of 11, even if they are themselves moped riders or if at least one of their parents is a rider. As a conclusion, significant differences between male and female PTW riders were revealed, in terms of accidentology and risk taking. These differences are linked to the riders’ conformity to their sex group and to the effects of this conformity on their motivations to ride a PTW. Moreover, it also showed that sex stereotypes exist for this specific road users’ population. This work led to a more detailed understanding of PTW riders’ aberrant behaviors, and to enrich the thinking for actions with regard to road safety education and prevention

The peculiarities of motorcycles bring significant risks for riders’ health in case of accident. In fact they have not got any safety cage as cars have and, when an accident occurs, the rider is more likely to suffer severe injuries than a car occupant. In addition, motorcycles do not feature any system capable of restraining the rider during an accident. A motorcyclist is therefore likely to face direct impacts against roadside objects. In such a situation, two possibilities exist to reduce the motorcyclist’s harm: reduce the dangerousness of the roadside obstacles or provide the rider’s garments with the capability of mitigating the consequences of the impact. This research activity concerns both of these possible approaches, studying biker protection systems mounted on the roadside barriers and wearable airbag devices. As a preliminary activity, the behaviour of Anthropomorphic Test Devices and the likelihood of their numeric models are investigated in off-design conditions, similar to those conditions that are typical of some motorcycling accidents. Thereafter, numeric models of three different additional barriers to be mounted on road restraint systems have been created and validated against experimental data. These models were used for sensitivity studies on characteristic impact parameters and for a critical review of the evaluation Standard for such devices. Finally, two scenarios were conceived to numerically evaluate the performance of an airbag device and to improve its design. Information provided by numeric simulations was confronted with experimental data. Both, safety devices mounted on roadside restraint systems and wearable airbags resulted capable of reducing the harm suffered by a motorcyclist that falls from his vehicle, slides on the ground and hits a standing object. An airbag device provides a more general protection; the air cushion around the neck reduces its movements, also contributing to reduce the head acceleration. The more specific road barriers instead also prevent the motorcyclist from trespassing the barrier itself, being exposed to further dangerous situations.

碩士
國立臺灣海洋大學
運輸與航海科學系
98
With economic development and technological advances, the amount of private transportation grows up very fast and this becomes a very important issue. Especially in recent years, we have confronted the global economic downturn and high oil prices. When choosing transportation with one of the key factors is high oil prices. On account of the importance and above information, issues about road safety of motorcycles will become more and more significant that we cannot ignore. This study mainly aims at examing the influence of the motorcyclists’ knowledge and riding attitudes on the riding behavior by means of the measuring instruments, examining sheets regarding traffic safety, safety attitudes questionnaire, and ridiing behavior questionnaire. this study also apply item response theory (IRT) to analyze driving knowledge items and motorcyclists’ knowledge abilities. This study includes 556 questionnaires from riding motorcyclists in both Taipei City and Taipei County, and the numbers of questionnaires with valid answers are 501, occupying 90% of the total questionnaires. According to the result of this study, most of the motorcyclists lacks of driving knowledge, we could also know that if we gain much knowledge about safety driving we could reduce the dangers caused by ignorance, but not significant in intentional driving behaviors.

碩士
中華大學
運輸科技與物流管理學系
105
Since July 2012, the government opened 250 cubic centimeters above the heavy motorcycles driving at all levels of expressways and fast road.Hence, the market of the large heavy motorcyclehas flourished. According to the Ministry of Communications statistics in September 2005, the number of large heavy motorcycle’s registration has been up to more than 100,000 units,and continue to grow every year. However, large heavy motorcycles are a relatively dangerous vehicle compared to other modes of transport. The accidental reaction time is shorter than general bike, and the extent of vehicle protection to protect drivers and passengers is far lower than the car, resulting in serious casualties than other types of transport and even harm the other road users. So the large heavy motorcycle’s traffic issues shouldbe strictlyconcerned by the Ministry of Transportation. The main purpose of this study was researching the relationship between safety knowledge, safety attitude and driving behaviors of large heavy motorcyclists.Subject in the study werethelarge heavy motorcyclists in the northern part of Taiwan.According tothe results of this study show that the safety knowledge oflarge heavy motorcyclists are generally inadequate, The average score of safety knowledge for young people is lower than other age group and the higher the educational level is, the higher the safety knowledge scores.In the safety attitude, the young people have irregularities, speeding attitude tendencies, and peple having moreaccident experience have the lower driving scores.The results show that safe driving knowledge and safe driving attitude have a significantly positive impact on driving behavior. Keywords: the large heavy motorcyclists, safe driving knowledge, sefe driving attitude, driving behavior

It is inevitable that the members of our contemporary society must move and interact with road infrastructures and vehicles and this exposes them to the high risk of injuries and fatalities. Road safety recognizes this risk and the safety need for all road users involved in road traffic. Globally, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians are the road users most vulnerable and in high-income countries these types of accidents happened principally in urban areas. The aim of road safety is the elimination of fatal crashes and the reduction of serious injuries through the provision of a safe transport system that takes into account the possibility of human error and the vulnerability of people to serious injury. The approach most commonly employed for this purpose is the study of real-world road accidents, and more in particular, the in-depth investigation of the accidents. Through these investigations it is possible to discover the response of the vehicles and infrastructure to the crash as well as human behaviour and the injury mechanisms. This typology research is strongly recommended by the state-of-the-art of the road accident. The European Union recommends the development of new independent bodies as well as the use of comparable data sets. This is the leading motivation that defines the framework of the present research and the fact that there is a lack of in-depth data on road accidents coming from southern Europe compared to that of northern Europe. Accordingly, the in-depth investigation methodology is defined and the in-depth road accident database is described. Overall, a collection of 80 road accidents which principally occurred in urban areas have been studied. The main injury mechanisms and injury causes by road user types are described. An accident causation factor analysis on pedestrian and powered two-wheel users has been carried out. Finally, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the pedestrian protection system has been performed based on real-world data and a pilot demonstration project has been completed.

The main aim of the PhD activity here presented is to understand PTW’s riders behaviour in risky scenarios, when the time to collision is short and evasive manoeuvers are required. This research focus on the identification of the key components of control skills, together with perception skills, required for a high performance and also for effective training interventions that can reduce the number of PTW collisions or mitigate their consequences. Preliminary results from this research based on in-depth accident data revealed collision at intersections as one of the biggest threats to motorcyclists and weak braking during emergency events as one of the most common reactions. Furthermore, the first part of the research showed that different patterns can be identified among riders after analyzing two naturalistic studies from riders on Powered Two Wheelers scooter-style in Florence and cyclists on e-bike in Gothenburg. The thesis presents a procedure designed to study the performance of riders in emergency situations based on: interaction with a constantly changing environment, dynamics of a two-wheeled vehicle, and capability of the rider. Results from field experiments in a controlled scenario with riders of different level of competencies revealed that the procedure defined can detect patterns from high skilled riders different from low skilled riders. In addition, the results provided key values that can be used to level skill classification. The characterization of the patterns of the riders of different skills is presented including two models, one that predicts the braking performance and another model that estimates the risk of loss control of the rider, both based on the rider’s interaction with the vehicle. Finally a tool interface based on the performance models is designed to support training tasks prescribing objective feedback to the riders to enhance training for safety. The thesis presents some directions for future research in skills acquisition, naturalistic studies and applications for training that stem from the results. Furthermore, the outcomes of this research can support providing insights for future designs of safety systems, such as advanced braking systems tailored to the patterns of each rider.

Das Risiko, im Straßenverkehr getötet zu werden, ist für Motorrad-Aufsassen vielfach höher als für andere Verkehrsteilnehmer. Dabei spielt das Verhalten der Motorradfahrer eine zent-rale Rolle. In Abhängigkeit von ihrer Fahrkompetenz können Fahrer durch entsprechendes Agieren und Reagieren kritische Situationen und Unfälle vermeiden. Zur Analyse des Fahrerverhaltens in Situationen individuell unterschiedlicher Kritikalität wurden Versuchs-fahrten mit Motorradfahrern unterschiedlicher Fahrerfahrung auf einem abgesperrten Test-gelände und im öffentlichen Straßenverkehr durchgeführt. Dazu wurde ein Versuchsmotor-rad mit Messtechnik ausgestattet, um detaillierte Informationen zum Fahrer, zum Fahrzeug und zur Umgebung zu erfassen. Die Probanden wiesen große Unterschiede im Fahrerverhal-ten auf, was in den meisten Fällen auf die unterschiedlichen Fahrerfahrungen der Teilneh-mer zurückzuführen ist. Durch detaillierte Analysen des Fahrerverhaltens konnten fahrer-spezifische Defizite festgestellt und entsprechende Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten aufgezeigt werden. Auf Basis dieser Erkenntnisse wurden Konzepte zur Unterstützung des Fahrers bei der Erweiterung seiner Fahrkompetenz beim Motorradfahren aufgestellt. Die Konzepte se-hen eine aus Standardmanövern und Realverkehrsfahrten kombinierte Schulung bzw. ein kombiniertes Training vor. Im Rahmen dessen werden dem Fahrer vor, während oder nach der Fahrt direkt oder indirekt (über eine Begleitperson) relevante Informationen im Hinblick auf entsprechende Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten zur Verfügung gestellt. Darüber hinaus wur-de ein kompakter Datenrekorder prototypisch entwickelt, womit die Grundlage für den prak-tischen Einsatz geschaffen wurde.