Exclusive Motorcycle Lane Research Articles

The Performance of the Exclusive Motorcycle Lane (EMCL) in Reducing Fatal Crashes Among Motorcyclists after 20 Years of Operation

When the first exclusive motorcycle lane (EMCL) was built in the early 70s, and after it was entirely built along Kuala Lumpur to Klang in 1993, it was studied to be very effective in preventing crashes by up to 34%. However, that was more than 20 years ago. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the current EMCL in terms of its potential to reduce fatal crashes among motorcyclists, its fatal risk factors, and its benefit-to-cost ratio to the government. This study uses secondary data from the Royal Police of Malaysia (PDRM) and primary data from the second Penang Bridge highway. The results show that EMCL is still an effective measure to reduce the fatalities among motorcyclists, with an effectiveness rate of 74% fatal reduction and a benefit-to-cost ratio of four times to the government. This study also finds that motorcyclists riding along EMCL who are not under substance influence, motorcyclists travelling during daytime and weekends (Saturdays and Sundays), and EMCL that are situated along Urban and EMCL with unpaved shoulders are predicted to be risky. However, when measured with traffic volume, EMCL may or may not be effective when evaluated based on the number of its utilisation or exposure. In conclusion, EMCL will save motorcyclists' lives and perform in the long term, albeit with strict enforcement of its usage and proper maintenance to accommodate safe motorcycle travel.

Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to the Analysis of Variations in Attitudes toward Exclusive Motorcycle Lanes

The purpose of this paper was to test the differences in attitudes influencing motorcyclists' behavioural expressions of motorcycle lane use as classified by demographic data and attitude factors from an application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) comprised of four factors: Attitude toward use, Subjective norms, perceived behavior control, and Behaviour intention. A questionnaire study of 1,004 motorcyclists in Nakhon Ratchasima province was conducted. Independent t-tests, One-Way ANOVA were used to analyze differences between motorcyclists' demographic data and components in the Theory of Planned Behavior. The findings revealed that different age groups and income levels had significantly different effects on perceived behavior control and behavior intention to use motorcycle lanes. While there were considerable differences in indications of attitude toward use and perceived norms across educational levels. Furthermore, perceived behavior control and behavior intention differed significantly across urban and rural areas, including driver's license status. Differences in location zone subjective norms, as well as attitudes toward the use of different driver's license statuses

Enhancing Urban Mobility: Exploring the Potential of Exclusive Motorcycle Lane Using VISSIM

Enhancing Urban Mobility: Exploring the Potential of Exclusive Motorcycle Lane Using VISSIM

Evaluating Lateral Interactions of Motorized Two-Wheelers using Multi-Gene Symbolic Genetic Programming

Complex maneuvering patterns are typical of motorized two-wheelers (MTWs), and their widespread adoption in many countries has spurred a growing response from transport researchers to model their dynamic behavior realistically. Considering the increased vulnerability of MTW drivers in dense urban mixed traffic systems, proper evaluation and modeling of lateral interactions between the drivers/riders moving abreast need to be addressed. A proper investigation can essentially help in understanding the behavioral aspects of riders in accepting shorter lateral clearances, design of exclusive motorcycle lanes, improved reliability of microsimulation models, and safety evaluation of the riders in a cognitive architecture. The current study therefore attempts to develop a novel symbolic regression model using a multigene genetic programming algorithm to generate and evaluate lateral clearance models naturally from field data for MTW interactions at mid-block sections, data being collected using video recorders. A binary logit model is initially developed to investigate the factors associated with the riders’ decisions to accept critical lateral clearances. Considering highly non-linear variations in data, the symbolic regression models were further developed and a comparison with the existing linear regression based lateral clearance models indicated that the symbolic model could generalize the non-linear structure of the data realistically and performed significantly better than the existing models.

Evaluation of the implementation of the motorcycle lane based on the riding experience

Currently, two-wheeled vehicles or motorcycle dominate more than 80% of motorised vehicles in Indonesia. A large number of motorcycles result in complicated traffic operations and reduced levels of safety. Lanes separation is the best engineering solution to overcome this problem. Several cities in Indonesia have implemented special motorcycle lanes. The results of the study stated that this program was not successful. This paper tries to evaluate the application of motorcycle lanes in terms of the user’s riding experience. The Sleman Outer Ring Road in Yogyakarta which has implemented a special motorcycle lane is the location of this study. Data collection was carried out through online questionnaire interviews. Respondents provide answers on a choice of four (4) scales, namely, strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. The method of analysis used for evaluating the use of a motorcycle lane is the descriptive statistical method and the chi-square test. Based on the experience of riding on an exclusive motorcycle lane, assessment of the special motorbike lane geometric and traffic flow is good.

Use of continuous speed profiles to investigate motorcyclists’ speed choice along exclusive motorcycle lane

The occurrence of speed-related crashes on the exclusive motorcycle lanes in Malaysia is a matter of concern. This study sought to address this concern through the analyses of speed data collected using GPS-based instrumented motorcycles. Consenting motorcycle riders (N = 29) were asked to ride the instrumented motorcycles along a 20 km stretch of an exclusive motorcycle lane along Federal Highway 2 (F02) in the city of Shah Alam. Analyses of the continuous speed profiles revealed significant inputs regarding the exclusive motorcycle lane. The geometric design of the facility is currently allowing motorcyclists to travel with high overall traveling speeds, with frequent and potentially unexpected speed changes. The acceleration profiles on tangents revealed that the motorcyclists were able to reach a cruising speed in only 50.3% of the acceleration trips, whilst other trips were characterized by sudden and rapid changes in speeds. Further, deceleration profiles on tangents indicated that the participants rode onto the transition elements with high approach speeds. The findings of this study highlighted the risk of a crash due to high traveling speeds and large speed reduction, especially during frequent transitions between tangential sections and horizontal curves.

Evaluation of the Traffic Performance Measure for Exclusive Motorcycle Lane at Merging Section

Exclusive Motorcycle Lane (EML) is defined as a roadway meant exclusively for motorcycles or can be stated as motorcyclists who are compelled by law to use it and other vehicles are prohibited by law from using it. It is physically separated from the mainstreams carriageway and is grade separated from the main carriageway at intersections, interchanges or points of conflicts. Merging is one of the parts of way that motorcycle deceleration the speed from main stream lane to enter the Exclusive Motorcycle Lane (EML) with safe. The urban expressways in Malaysia have serious problems regarding the safety, efficiency and comfort ability at merging sections of an EML because of the insufficient geometric due to limited land and the right of way design configuration condition. The increase of traffic volume and demand lead towards the degradation of motorcyclist performance while on their wheels. This research is performed in order to achieve the objectives, i.e. to obtain and analyze local empirical data, such as flow rate, headway and speed on exclusive motorcycle lane at merging section that reflects on the local traffic condition on Federal Highway Route 2, and to obtainregression modeling that relates to Flow Rate with regards to the Headway 1-3, Time Mean Speed and Length of Merging Ramp section, Lm on the merging section of EML and merging ramp section. Tworegression models have successfully been performed with R-Sq 94.8 % for EML section and 31.1 % for merging ramp section. Its also highlighted the attributes of EML.

Evaluating the effect of lane width and roadside configurations on speed, lateral position and likelihood of comfortable overtaking in exclusive motorcycle lane

Construction of exclusive motorcycle lanes is one of the measures to reduce motorcycle fatalities. Previous studies highlighted the risk of crashes with roadside objects and the tendency of motorcyclists to ride with excessive speed on exclusive motorcycle lanes. However, the risk of same-direction crashes on exclusive motorcycle lanes was not explored in much detail, especially on the impact of lane geometry and roadside configurations. This study used naturalistic riding data to determine the effects of lane width and roadside configurations on overtaking speed, lateral position and likelihood of comfortable overtaking on tangential sections of an exclusive motorcycle lane. Twenty-nine recruited motorcyclists rode the instrumented motorcycles along a 20km stretch of an exclusive motorcycle lane along a major urban road. Results revealed that both the roadside configurations and lane width significantly affect the participants’ lateral position, while the roadside configurations only affects the overtaking speed. Participants’ overtaking speeds and the front motorcycles’ lateral position contribute significantly to the likelihood of comfortable overtaking in exclusive motorcycle lanes. The findings highlight the importance of micro-level behavior indicators in improving the design and overall safety of the exclusive motorcycle facility.

Effective Motorcycle Lane Configuration Thailand: A Case Study of Southern Thailand

Motorcycle lane has proved to be an effective engineering measure in reducing motorcycle crashes and fatalities. Its effectiveness stems from the fact that it helps mitigate the hazards of riding a motorcycle in a traffic stream, which have become a serious cause of death and injury in many countries.This research seeks to develop standardized configurations and widths for motorcycle lanes in Thailand. The optimum format for such a lane may be determined from the simulation of data relating to road accidents, traffic volumes and vehicle speeds.In practice, a range of initial lane widths were inputted into a traffic simulator program – in this case, the VISSIM 5.4 – whose output was analyzed to yield the relationship between MC volume, lane width and level of service (LOS). A pilot test was then performed on a stretch of actual road which had been installed with an MC lane of varying widths. Changes in vehicle speed were observed and employed to determine the relationship between lane width and the actual reduction in vehicle speed and the theoretical reduction in road accidents. Findings of the study point to an efficient lane width in the range of 2.0 to 3.0m – for the shared lane configuration.For any width outside the said range, the benefit of the MC Lane would be eroded either by the intrusion of larger vehicles, or by the constraining effect of too narrow a lane. The authors also recommends the preferred width for an Exclusive MC Lane which may range from 3.0 to 4.0m. The lane width of 3.0m is found to be the most effective in reducing the speed of all traversing vehicles, even when compared with the 2.5m or 3.5m widths. With the 3.0m option, the resulting reduction in speed can be as high as 17%; and reduction of accidents, up to 25%. In view of the aforementioned, the authors recommend configuring for the Shared Motorcycle Lane of 3.0m with 2 sublanes of 1.5m width, and for the Exclusive Motorcycle Lane 3.0 – 4.0m with 2 sublanes of 1.5 to 2.0m width.

Factors That Contribute Towards Motorcycle Lane Lack of Usage in Butterworth Kulim Expressway (BKE)

This research paper will discuss on the factors that contribute towards motorcycle lane lack of usage in Butterworth Kulim Expressway (BKE). The (BKE) is one of the Asia Highway Route Expressway in Malaysia. With the length is 16.78 kilometer and connects the Butterworth, Penang in the west and Kulim, Kedah in the east. Constructed in 1994 and started the operation in 1996, maximum speed to ride at the motorcycle lane is 70 km/h. The main function of motorcycle lane provided in (BKE) is to reduce accidents rate among motorcyclist in Malaysia this is due to the fatalities in Malaysia has the highest road fatality risk (per 100,000 population) among the ASEAN countries and more than 50% of the road accident fatalities involve motorcyclists. The number of motorcyclist in Butterworth Kulim Expressway is increasing time to time due to the development of the region. In this study, the exclusive motorcycle lane provided at the Butterworth Kulim Expressway (BKE) seems do not fully utilize from their daily travel activities. Even there is enforcement by the authority selected by the government of Malaysia to monitor the traffic rules on the Butterworth Kulim Expressway (BKE) but still there are some motorcyclists do not travel using the motorcycle lane provided. This will lead to the researcher to determine factors that contribute towards motorcycle lane lack of usage and it will be discussed and analysed using the SPSS Software through correlation coefficient method.

Motorcyclist perception response time in stopping sight distance situations

One of the most effective engineering measures is the provision of an exclusive motorcycle lane that separates motorcycles from other mixed traffic to reduce traffic congestion and motorcycle crashes. Even though the existing exclusive motorcycle lanes in Malaysia reduced the incidents of motorcycle crashes with other vehicles, the design of this special motorcycle lane was based on a cross reference between a bicycle track and a highway. Thus, a suitable design guide is yet to be developed for the geometrical design of a proper and safer exclusive motorcycle lane. Safe stopping sight distance (SSD) has been recognized as a criterion for road design and should be taken into account. Motorcyclist perception response time (PRT) is the time from detection object until the rider reduces motorcycle speed in braking action is an essential component of motorcycle SSD. Two road experiments were conducted to obtain empirical values of motorcycle PRT to expected and unexpected objects. In the expected condition, 89 motorcyclists applied brake as quickly as possible following activation of a light beside the road. In the unexpected condition, 16 riders responded by braking in response to an obstacle that appeared suddenly in their lane. The mean PRT to expected and unexpected object is 0.71 s and 1.25 s respectively. The 85th percentile PRT to unexpected object is 2.12 s. This study found that most riders are capable of responding to an unexpected object along the roadway in 2.5 s or less. Therefore, PRT of 2.5 s is an appropriate value for motorcycle lane geometric design.

Time headway study on exclusive motorcycle lane

Malaysia is facing high motorcyclist fatalities each year. Motorcycles constitute more than half the total vehicles and contribute more than 47% of casualties (deaths and serious and slight injuries) in traffic crashes. Thus, safety of this form of transportation is an important issue. One of the problems that traffic engineers face all this while is that there is no international standard for motorcycle track design. This preliminary study was conducted on two different traffic geometry designed for the exclusive motorcycle lane. The sites chosen are a straight section of motorcycle lane and a stretch which leads to a tunnel. The time headways were taken for these sites at three different periods of time. ANOVA analyses were applied on the time headway and the factors that affect the variation of time headway at motorcycle lane were studied.

Level of service model for exclusive motorcycle lane

The concept of level-of-service (LOS) is meant to reflect the trip quality a traveler will experience on a roadway or other transportation facility. The present paper illustrates a statistical model for estimating motorcycle level-of-service (LOS) at exclusive motorcycle lanes in order to predict riders’ perceptions about the service quality. 261 motorcycle riders contributed in a survey and rated the service quality of 500 m segments of exclusive motorcycle lane as it is shown on the scenes which are videotaped from the rider’s perspective. Participants were asked to rate (using predefined scores) the service quality of clips on 6 point scale ranging from excellent to very poor after watching 10 video segments. The resulting linear regression model shows that the mean rider rating from motorcyclists’ survey had statistically significant correlations with operational and design characteristics (R2 =0.62). This method is hoped to provide the means required in order to develop a procedure resulting in specific feedbacks to be effective for exclusive motorcycle lane level-of-service criteria and thresholds. Keywords: Exclusive motorcycle lane, Malaysia, roadways, surface transport, two-wheeler safety.

Level of Service Model for Exclusive Motorcycle Lane

The concept of level-of-service (LOS) is meant to reflect the trip quality a traveler will experience on a roadway or other transportation facility. The present paper illustrates a statistical model for estimating motorcycle level-of-service (LOS) at exclusive motorcycle lanes in order to predict riders' perceptions about the service quality. 261 motorcycle riders contributed in a survey and rated the service quality of 500 m segments of exclusive motorcycle lane as it is shown on the scenes which are videotaped from the rider's perspective. Participants were asked to rate (using predefined scores) the service quality of clips on 6 point scale ranging from excellent to very poor after watching 10 video segments. The resulting linear regression model shows that the mean rider rating from motorcyclists' survey had statistically significant correlations with operational and design characteristics (R 2 =0.62). This method is hoped to provide the means required in order to develop a procedure resulting in specific feedbacks to be effective for exclusive motorcycle lane level-of-service criteria and thresholds.

Establishing speed–flow–density relationships for exclusive motorcycle lanes

The motorcycle is a popular mode of transport in Malaysia and developing Asian countries, but its significant representation in the traffic mix results in high rates of motorcycle accidents. As a result, the Malaysian Government decided to segregate motorcycle traffic along its new federal roads as an engineering approach to reduce accidents. However, traffic engineers needed to know the maximum traffic a motorcycle lane could accommodate. Despite substantial literature related to speed–flow–density relationships and capacities of various transport facilities, there is a knowledge gap regarding motorcycle lanes. This paper establishes motorcycle speed–flow–density relationships and capacities of exclusive motorcycle lanes in Malaysia. Observations of motorcycle flows and speeds were conducted along existing and experimental motorcycle lanes. Motorcycle speed–density data were aggregated and plotted for two types of observable motorcycle riding behaviour patterns that were influenced by the widths of a motorcycle lane: the headway pattern (lane width ≤ 1.7 m) and the space pattern (lane width > 1.7 m). For both riding patterns, regression analysis of motorcycle speed–density data best fits the logarithmic model and consequently the motorcycle flow–density and speed–flow models are derived. Motorcycle lane capacities for headway and space riding patterns are estimated as 3300 mc/hr/lane and 2200 mc/hr/m, respectively.

Factors affecting motorcyclists speeding behavior in different types of motorcycle lanes. A study from psychological perspectives.

Segregating motorcyclists is one of the practices that used to reduce motorcycle collisions with other road users. Malaysia has three common types of motorcycle lanes; the exclusive motorcycle lane, the inclusive motorcycle lane and the paved shoulder. This study examined the impacts of these types of motorcycle lanes on motorcyclist psychology and speeding behaviors by using questionnaire survey that carried out in Malaysia. The psychological variables investigated in this study are based on psychological theories that related with risky behavior which are attitude, perceived behavior control, perception of danger, fear of being caught, moral obligation and perception on others’ speeding behavior. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that exclusive motorcycle lane give direct impact on motorcyclists’ speeding behavior compare to other type of lanes. Psychological factors such as perception of others’ behavior, attitude and perceived behavior control show the significant influence toward motorcyclists’ speeding behavior in the motorcycle lanes.

Motorcycle Characteristics for Sight Distance Investigation on Exclusive Motorcycle Lanes

In developing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, the motorcycle is a popular means of transportation because it is cheap and provides flexible door-to-door mobility. However, motorcyclists are also highly involved in road accidents. Separating motorcycles from other vehicles in traffic by providing motorcycle lanes is a good engineering measure to improve the safety of motorcyclists. In designing motorcycle lanes, considerations of geometrical elements such as horizontal and vertical curve lengths, stopping distances, and passing sight distances are essential. This study attempts to quantify the eye levels and head levels of motorcycle riders and motorcycle headlight and taillight height characteristics that influenced these geometrical elements. Characteristics of the motorcycles observed along the existing exclusive motorcycle lanes in Selangor state of Malaysia were transcribed from a camcorder, using reference dimension. Findings recommend a design motorcycle eye height of 1,350 mm (5th percentile), headlight height of 800 mm (5th percentile), and taillight height of 625 mm (5th percentile). A motorcyclist height of 1,525 mm (10th percentile) is recommended for the design of sight distance. Recommended heights reduce the cost of motorcycle lane construction with demonstrated safety compared with the current criteria.

Crashes with roadside objects along motorcycle lanes in Malaysia

Exclusive motorcycle lanes were introduced in Malaysia in the 1980s to reduce motorcyclist fatalities and they seem to be effective. However, no design guide has yet been developed for designing safer exclusive motorcycle lanes. The construction of Malaysian exclusive motorcycle lanes is based on the design criteria for cycle tracks [6], which does not suit the fast travelling and high volume of motorcycles along the exclusive lanes. According to the collected accident data, frequent motorcycle crashes still occur on exclusive motorcycle lanes. The present study found that roadside objects are one of the main contributing factors to motorcyclist fatalities. As a standard practice, guardrails have been planted along highways and roads. The design engineer of exclusive motorcycle lanes utilised the same practice and planted standard guardrails along exclusive motorcycle lanes. The suitability and the importance of the standard guardrail system as protection agent have been investigated and supported by real-world crash data. The catchment areas of the study were the top two longest exclusive motorcycle lanes in Malaysia: the exclusive motorcycle lanes along Federal Highway F0002 and the exclusive motorcycle lane along Shah Alam Expressway. Crash cases collected over 4½-year period were from the accident database of the authorities. A total number of 107 cases were recorded as motorcycle crashes involving roadside objects. Guardrails have been identified as the most struck object, representing 32.7% of all roadside object-related motorcycle crashes along exclusive motorcycle lanes. An odds ratio analysis has found that narrow surface objects contribute to higher fatality rate than guardrails. However, guardrails still contribute 23.5% of all fatal roadside object-related crashes and were found to be 1.7 times more likely to cause serious injury to motorcyclists than non-object-related motorcycle crashes. These findings support that guardrails are suitable to be used as a protection agent for the motorcyclists using the exclusive motorcycle lanes. However, further research and enhancements on the guardrail design system and material type are needed to have safer exclusive motorcycle lanes.

DETERMINATION OF COMFORTABLE SAFE WIDTH IN AN EXCLUSIVE MOTORCYCLE LANE

Motorcyclists contributed almost 60% of the fatal accidents in Malaysia. One of the effective engineering approaches to tackle this problem is by segregating these vulnerable road users from other motorized traffic through the provision of an exclusive motorcycle lane. At present there are no specific standards that are available to assess design criteria of exclusive motorcycle lanes. However, it is important to specify optimum control width for exclusive motorcycle lanes to ensure that the design of exclusive motorcycle lane is safe for all motorcycle riders. The estimation of safe control motorcycle lane width was based on a logistic regression. The dependent variable is status with respect to rider comfortable level in overtaking maneuver. The resulting analysis was used to suggest a safe control width of pavement for a straight section of an exclusive motorcycle lane. Result indicates that the safe control width of exclusive motorcycle lane should be 3.81 meters.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PASSING AND PAIRED RIDING MANEUVERS OF MOTORCYCLE

The purpose of this study addresses a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of passing and paired riding maneuver of motorcycle based on video technique. Two locations in Hanoi, Vietnam have been used for data collection, including exclusive motorcycle lane and undivided roadway. The passing characteristics in this research include (i) individual speeds and speed differences between passing and passed motorcycles; (ii) lateral spacing of passing and passed motorcycles; (iii) longitudinal distances from beginning and ending of passing event. For paired riding maneuvers, statistical analyses of speed and lateral spacing were revealed useful information. The threshold for paired riding including speed difference was also determined. The present study provides a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of passing and paired riding maneuvers. These findings can be used to develop more accurate procedures for the analysis of the quality of service of motorcycle paths as well as to develop a comprehensive simulation model.