01088356

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2074-10

http://scholar.google.com...erco&publication_year=2008

Accident data indicate that motorcyclists are a particularly vulnerable group of road users because they run a higher risk of being injured or killed in an accident than passenger car drivers. One of the countermeasures that can improve traffic safety for motorcyclists is an increase in awareness and knowledge about powered two-wheelers (PTWs) in the planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of new and existing roads. Road design standards and policies that regulate design process and safety evaluations are usually based on passenger car characteristics only. In particular, the passenger car operating speed is used as the critical input for design choices of geometric elements connected with traffic safety and as a performance measure to evaluate road design and consistency. Because the passenger car operating speed might not be representative of the PTW operating speed, this study compared the PTW and passenger car speed distributions in urban areas to establish definitively whether they are similar. The results showed that PTW speeds are always considerably higher than passenger car speeds and that the corresponding operating speeds are correlated. Therefore, a prediction equation to estimate the PTW operating speed starting from passenger car operating speed was developed for urban streets. This equation can help highway engineers to estimate expected PTW speeds that can be effectively used in the safety evaluations of new and existing roads where the significant presence of PTWs in the traffic flow suggests that this vehicle type should be considered.

01116587

English

pp 77-84

2008

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309113489

Print

Figures (5) ; References (37) ; Tables (2)

Automobiles; Equations; Free flow speeds; Highway design; Highway safety; Mopeds; Motorcycles; Operating speed; Speed distribution; Two wheeled vehicles; Urban areas

Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

TRIS, TRB

Jan 29 2008 2:48PM

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