Project Description

Powered Two Wheeler (PTW) users are greatly over-involved in serious and fatal crashes. They have between 5 and 25 times the risk of having a fatal crash compared to car drivers, depending on the country. The number of PTWs on European roads has more than doubled over the last two decades. The recent MAIDS (Motorcycle Accident In-Depth Study) study of PTW crashes in Europe found that behavioural and ergonomic issues were major contributing factors to PTW crashes: the primary accident cause for PTW crashes was the failure of drivers to perceive two-wheelers; and human error was a major contributing factor to most crashes, for both PTW and car drivers. The majority of PTW crashes involved a collision with a car. Many large-scale research programs have been undertaken to understand the behavioural and ergonomic factors that contribute to crashes involving 4-wheeled vehicles. These have been effective in informing countermeasure development, which has led to significant reductions in crashes. To our knowledge, no comparable human factors and behavioural research programs have been initiated in the PTW domain, in Europe or elsewhere. The high rate of motorcycle-related deaths and injuries calls for new and refined countermeasures, deriving from solid behavioural and ergonomics research. In this proposal we outline an innovative program of research, involving partners from Europe, Israel and Australia, that directly targets those behavioural and ergonomic factors cited in the MAIDS study as contributing to PTW crashes. This includes research on crash causes and human error, the world’s first naturalistic riding study involving instrumented PTWs, research on motorcycle rider risk awareness and perception, the development of new research tools to support the research program, in-depth research on the factors that underlie driver failures to see PTWs and their riders, and the development of recommendations for practical countermeasures for enhancing PTW rider safety. 

Partners

Coordinator: Europe Recherche Transport

Participants: Trl Limited, Bundesanstalt für Strassenwesen, The University of Nottingham, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Piaggio & C S.P.A., Institut Francais des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l’Amenagement et des Reseaux, Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus Vtt, Centre Europeen d’Etudes de Securite et d’Analyse des Risquesc.E.E.S.A.R. et d’Analyse des Risques, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, National Technical University of Athens, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Fundacion Cidaut, Api Sa, Technische Universität Dresden, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa - Utl, Factum Chaloupka & Risser Ohg, Kuratorium für Verkehrssicherheit, Universität Wien, Monash University, Panepistimio Thessalias (University of Thessaly), Federation of European Motorcyclist’ Associations, Centrum Dopravniho Vyzkumu V.V.I., Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Österreichisches Forschungs- und Prüfzentrum Arsenal Ges.M.B.H., Università degli Studi di Padova