01516215

Component

Motor scooters and mopeds are being aggressively marketed as low-cost alternatives to the car for commuting as the gas price are increasing. However, most of the traffic infrastructure does not accommodate the safety of moped and scooter drivers. Motor scooters (called motorcycle in Taiwan) are the most common motorized vehicles and contribute the highest traffic fatalities on Taiwanese roads. In order to enhance the traffic safety, several motor scooter management strategies and regulations were implemented in Taiwan. Nevertheless, these strategies merely focus on decreasing motorcycle usage and restricting the rights of motorcyclists. Road geometry or traffic control device designs scarcely take into account the numerous motorcycles and the motorcyclists’ points of view. This study attempts to fill those gaps in road designs and traffic control devices by considering the traveling rights of motorcyclists. Motorcycle crashes and fatalities were analyzed by objects, road types and locations, as well as crash causes to identify the major contributors of crashes due to road design issues. Based on the crashes analysis results, principles for developing guidelines for road designs and traffic control devices are proposed. At unsignalized intersections, a physical and visible traffic signing or marking should be implemented to clearly assign the passing priority for approaching vehicles. At signalized intersections, supplemental sets of signal indications for motorcycles are needed to provide a clear signal indication for vehicles traveling on the road’s side lanes. On road segments, the implementation of motorcycle exclusive and priority lanes should take into account the land use of the road side. Various speed limits by lanes and supplemental markings for motorcycles to stay on tracks or lane are also recommended.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF30 Motorcycles and Mopeds.

01503729

14-5532

English

17p

2014

Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Crash analysis; Geometric design; Mopeds; Motorcyclists; Scooters; Traffic control devices; Traffic flow; Traffic safety; Vehicle mix

Taiwan

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2014 Paper #14-5532

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 27 2014 3:56PM