01626382

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2637-05

Horizontal curves have been of great interest to transportation researchers because of expected safety hazards for motorcyclists. The impacts of horizontal curve design on motorcycle crash injuries are not well documented in previous studies. The current study aimed to investigate and to quantify the effects of horizontal curve design and associated factors on the injury severity of single-motorcycle crashes with consideration of the issue of unobserved heterogeneity. A mixed-effects logistic model was developed on the basis of 2,168 single-motorcycle crashes, which were collected on 8,597 horizontal curves in Florida for a period of 11 years (2005 to 2015). Four normally distributed random parameters (moderate curves, reverse curves, older riders, and male riders) were identified. The modeling results showed that sharp curves (radius <1,500 ft) compared with flat curves (radius ≥4,000 ft) tended to increase significantly the probability of severe injury (fatal or incapacitating injury) by 7.7%. In total, 63.8% of single-motorcycle crashes occurring on reverse curves are more likely to result in severe injury, and the remaining 26.2% are less likely to result in severe injury. Motorcyclist safety compensation behaviors (psychologically feeling safe, and then riding aggressively, or vice versa) may result in counterintuitive effects (e.g., vegetation and paved medians, full-access-controlled roads, and pavement conditions) or random parameters (e.g., moderate curve and reverse curve). Other significant factors include lighting conditions (darkness and darkness with lights), weekends, speed or speeding, collision type, alcohol or drug impairment, rider age, and helmet use.

01628862

17-05464

English

pp 38–46

2017

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309441650

Digital/other

Figures (3) ; Maps; References (30) ; Tables (3)

Crash characteristics; Crash injuries; Highway curves; Injury severity; Motorcyclists

Florida

Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 12:09PM

• Comparison of Driver Navigation at Turbo Roundabouts and Modern Two-Lane Roundabouts: Simulation Study
• Estimating Lives Saved and Injuries Reduced by Motorcycle Helmet Use in Colorado, 2006–2014
• Evaluation of Roundabout-Related Single-Vehicle Crashes
• Heavy-Vehicle Crash Rate Analysis: Comparison of Heterogeneity Methods Using Idaho Crash Data
• Investigating Total Annual Average Daily Traffic as a Surrogate for Motorcycle Volumes in Estimating Safety Performance Functions for Motorcycle Crashes
• Long-Term Effect of Universal Helmet Law Changes on Motorcyclist Fatal Crashes: Comparison Group and Empirical Bayes Approaches
• Numerical Study of Bernoulli Effect on Bus Controllability and Driving Safety
• Operational Evaluation of Two-Lane Roundabouts at Freeway Ramp Terminals: Comparison Between Roundabout and Signalized Interchanges
• Safety Effects of Horizontal Curve Design on Motorcycle Crash Frequency on Rural, Two-Lane, Undivided Highways in Florida
• Short-Term Evaluation of Transition from Differential to Uniform Speed Limit for Trucks and Buses on Two-Lane Highways
• Transfer of Training in Basic Control Skills from Truck Simulator to Real Truck