Abstract
As electric bicycles (e-bikes) are becoming popular in China, concerns have been raised about their safety conditions. A traffic conflict technique is commonly used in traffic safety analysis, and there are many conflict measures designed for cars. However, e-bikes have high flexibility to change speed and trajectories, which is different from cars, so the conflict measures defined for e-bikes need to be independently explored. Based on e-bike driving characteristics, this paper proposes a new measure, the Integrated Conflict Intensity (ICI), for traffic conflicts involving e-bikes at intersections. It measures the degree of dangerousness of a conflict process, with consideration of both conflict risk and conflict severity. Time to collision is used to measure the conflict risk. Relative kinetic energy is used to measure the conflict severity. ICI can be calculated based on video analysis. The method of determining ICI thresholds for three conflict levels (serious, less serious, and slight) and two conflict types (conflicts between two e-bikes, and conflicts between an e-bike and a car) is put forward based on the questionnaires about safety perception of e-bike riders, which is regarded as the criterion of e-bike safety conditions at intersections. The video recording and a questionnaire survey about conflicts involving e-bikes at intersections have been conducted, and the unified thresholds applicable to different intersections have been determined. It is verified that ICI and its thresholds meet the criterion of e-bike safety conditions. This work is expected to be used in the selection of intersections for safety improvement of e-bike traffic.
Highlights
In China, electric bicycles (e-bikes) have become a popular travel mode for citizens
The traffic conflict measure for e-bikes is established based on the considerations of both conflict risk and conflict severity
Conflict Potential Risk (CPR) is proposed to measure the possibility of a conflict converting into a crash with TTC, and Conflict Potential Harm (CPH) is proposed to measure the severity degree of a possible crash with relative kinetic energy
Summary
In China, electric bicycles (e-bikes) have become a popular travel mode for citizens. In order to assess the safety of e-bikes when passing through intersections, there is need to propose e-bike traffic conflict technique which has been commonly used for cars. Traffic conflict was defined for the first time by Perkins & Harris [2] as a surrogate safety measure for crashes at intersections. It is necessary to form an improved new safety measure for e-bikes based on a traffic conflict technique. Due to the lack of physical protection, provided by cars, e-bike riders are directly exposed to safety risks at intersections, and they take direct damage from an accident. The conflict risk and the conflict severity are considered together in the proposed measure for e-bikes.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
