Motorcycle Speed Research Articles

Effects of Speed Bumps and Humps on Motorcycle Speed Profiles

In developed countries, the use of speed humps and bumps have evolved from extensive research and testing which been properly designed and standardized. On the contrary in developing countries, no systematic and scientific studies have been carried out on that environment, especially the study on the effects that the motorcyclists response to the humps and bumps. This study therefore reveals the riders behavior when negotiating their speed to the devices. A case study was conducted in the provincial cities of Thailand where the motorcycle was a major mode of transportation. Six locations with speed humps and bumps were selected. Vehicles passing times were simultaneously recorded at 12 points along each traffic calmed link. From these data, a speed profile for each individual vehicle and for a link could be derived. It is found that speed humps and bumps have critically different impacts on motorcycle rider and passenger car driver. The smaller size speed bumps could effectively control the rider speed but have diverse impacts on the driver. These speed differences could post more safety deficiency to the site. The effect of the device on riders behavior, however, is restricted to a short spatial range (about 20-30 m before and after the device). For the speed humps, the motorcycle speeds are quite varied depending mainly on the road terrain. It is found that the motorcyclists have significant lower acceleration rate on the upgrade terrain when compared to the passenger car. Therefore, it is important to take all these rider characteristics into considerations when design the road humps to control vehicle speed in the developing countries.

Analysis of Effects of Manhole Covers on Motorcycle Driver Maneuvers: A Nonparametric Classification Tree Approach

Objective: A manhole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole to allow traffic to pass over the manhole and to prevent people from falling in. Because most manhole covers are placed in roadway traffic lanes, if these manhole covers are not appropriately installed or maintained, they can represent unexpected hazards on the road, especially for motorcycle drivers. The objective of this study is to identify the effects of manhole cover characteristics as well as driver factors and traffic and roadway conditions on motorcycle driver maneuvers. Method: A video camera was used to record motorcycle drivers’ maneuvers when they encountered an inappropriately installed or maintained manhole cover. Information on 3059 drivers’ maneuver decisions was recorded. Classification and regression tree (CART) models were applied to explore factors that can significantly affect motorcycle driver maneuvers when passing a manhole cover. Results: Nearly 50 percent of the motorcycle drivers decelerated or changed their driving path to reduce the effects of the manhole cover. The manhole cover characteristics including the level difference between manhole cover and pavement, the pavement condition over the manhole cover, and the size of the manhole cover can significantly affect motorcycle driver maneuvers. Other factors, including traffic conditions, lane width, motorcycle speed, and loading conditions, also have significant effects on motorcycle driver maneuvers. Conclusions: To reduce the effects and potential risks from the manhole covers, highway authorities not only need to make sure that any newly installed manhole covers are as level as possible but also need to regularly maintain all the manhole covers to ensure that they are in good condition. In the long run, the size of manhole covers should be kept as small as possible so that the impact of manhole covers on motorcycle drivers can be effectively reduced. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Traffic Injury Prevention to view the supplemental file.

Towards identifying the roll motion parameters of a motorcycle simulator

This study aimed at identifying the roll motion parameters of a motorcycle simulator prototype. Experienced motorcyclists tuned the angular physical movement of the mock-up and that of the visual scene to achieve an optimal riding experience during curves. The participants exceeded the rolling angles that would be required in real-world riding, while avoiding leaning the mock-up beyond 10°. In addition, they were more influenced by the speed of the virtual motorcycle than by road curvature, especially in a wide field of view. Heterogeneity was found in the roll applied to the visual scene. The overall patterns suggest that at least when washout is not applied to remove the side forces that in real-world riding are compensated by a centrifugal force, greater roll of the visual at the expense of the mock-up is mandatory to avoid performance biases that might be enhanced due to fear of falling off the simulator. Future roll motion models must take into consideration factors such as riding postures, which might not only influence the forces operating on the rider-motorcycle system, but also how motorcyclists perceive the visual world.

Motorcycle speeds at urban intersections

BackgroundDrivers at fault cause approximately 40% of all motorcycle crashes in New Zealand.AimTo identify relative speed of cars and motorcycles in an urban setting.MethodsFive urban, uncontrolled T-intersections known to be...

Practical experience of gateway treatment in developing country

BackgroundMany developing countries currently encounter critical high traffic accident rate. One cause is lack of controlling speed, especially along local road passing community. The gateway installation at entrance of community...

The study of coefficient of friction for light motorcycle sliding on asphalt road

The very high number of motorcycles in Taiwan contributes to its high accident rate. Handling a two-wheeled motorcycle during an accident is difficult, frequently resulting in falls and sliding along the road surface. Speed is often used to identify the party at fault. The friction coefficient and scrape mark length are typically used to estimate vehicle speed. Most literature focused on heavy motorcycles, and whether the friction coefficient is independent of speed. To resolve disputes about whether the friction coefficient is dependent upon speed, an accurate measurement methodology was applied to determine initial speed of a motorcycle sliding along a road surface. Experiments using 125cc scooters, that is, light motorcycles, were undertaken on dry and wet asphalt roads. Slide distance was measured to examine the relationship between a motorcycle’s scrape mark length and speed during slide tests. Experimental analysis showed that the square of speed is proportional to scrape mark length, and the linear relationship derived from the work-energy theorem indicates that the friction coefficient is independent of speed. Key words: Coefficient of friction, light motorcycle speed, scrape mark length.

Judgments of approach speed for motorcycles across different lighting levels and the effect of an improved tri-headlight configuration

The misperception of vehicle approach speed is a key contributory factor to road traffic crash involvement. Past research has indicated that individuals use the rate of visual looming to calculate the time to passage (TTP) of a vehicle, and that smaller vehicles loom to a lesser extent than larger vehicles. Despite a disproportionate number of fatal injuries occurring on the road after dark, and a higher than average number of accidents involving automobile drivers violating the right of way of a motorcyclist occurring in low light conditions, there has been very little consideration of the accuracy of TTP for smaller and larger vehicles under low levels of luminance. We investigated drivers’ judgments of motorcycle and car approach speeds across a number of levels of luminance within a virtual city scene, as well as the effectiveness of a tri-headlight formation on motorcycle speed judgments. The accuracy of car approach speed judgments were not affected by changes in lighting conditions, but speed judgments for the solo headlight motorcycle became significantly less accurate as lighting reduced in the early night and night-time conditions. Incorporation of a tri-headlight formation onto the standard motorcycle frame resulted in improved accuracy of approach speed judgments, relative to the solo headlight motorcycle, as ambient light levels reduced. The practical implications of the findings are discussed in terms of road safety and motorcycle design.

Describing Non–Lane-Based Motorcycle Movements in Motorcycle-Only Traffic Flow

The motorcycle is the main transport mode for commuters in Vietnam because it costs less than a car and has greater mobility on congested city roads. A better understanding of the characteristics of motorcycle traffic flow can be helpful in formulating proposals for traffic management policies. Under congested conditions, motorcycles are observed to change their directions and speeds quite often. This study focuses on the zigzag movements of motorcycles in motorcycle-only traffic, which are termed “non–lane-based movements.” Research was conducted on the mechanisms of non–lane-based movements with a consideration of how two behaviors of a subject motorcycle—acceleration and deceleration—were affected by the velocity changes of lead motorcycles. A concept of safety space was introduced to explain these behaviors. Calibration data for the proposed model were extracted from video clips taken at road segments in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. By calculating the root mean square error of the estimated value and the field value, the proposed model reproduced the speed and direction of motorcycles with high reliability. A computer simulation was used to reproduce two basic types of non–lane-based movements—oblique following and swerving—and to verify the difference in the speed–flow relationship between lane-based and non–lane-based movements.

Developing a Toolbox for Calculating MotorcycleEmission and the Difference of CO2 from Motorcycle forEach Type of Road in Hanoi

Number of motorcycle in Hanoi increase year by year, it lead to various problems especially pollution. How to calculated motorcycle emission which can be reflex road condition and individual behavior become very necessary. With major aim to develop toolbox can calculate motorcycle emission which can be reflex current situation in Hanoi, The relationship of motorcycle emission and power will be applied. By using global position system (GPS) data to calculate power, toolbox can be automatic clean error, cut trips and calculated motorcycle emission by each trip. On the other hand, by dividing trips for each type of road in Hanoi, this research also has comparisons the difference of motorcycle speed, CO2 emission and also the impact of peak hour on each type of road. This studies tents to make some analysis for people deeply understanding the current situation of motorcycle emission in Hanoi.

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.

Judging the approach speed of motorcycles and cars in night-time driving conditions

Judging the approach speed of motorcycles and cars in night-time driving conditions

Errors in judging the approach rate of motorcycles in nighttime conditions and the effect of an improved lighting configuration

One of the key contributory factors for accident involvement is misjudgment of approach speed (Department for Transport, 2010). Past research has indicated that individuals can use the rate of visual looming in order to the judge time to passage (TTP) of approaching vehicles, and that smaller vehicles loom to a lesser extent than larger vehicles (e.g., Horswill et al., 2005). However, the judgment of TTP in nighttime conditions has received little attention. This paper explores drivers’ abilities to make judgments of motorcycles and car approach speeds in nighttime driving conditions, when only the headlights are visible, as well as the effectiveness of a tri-headlight configuration on the accuracy of motorcycle speed judgments. Results showed that individuals were significantly more accurate at judging the speed of two car headlights compared with the standard solo headlight motorcycle. However, the inclusion of a tri-headlight formation on a standard motorcycle frame significantly improved these judgments. A further investigation demonstrated that tri-headlight configurations with separation between headlights on the horizontal and vertical axes are most effective for yielding accurate speed judgments. The implications of the results for road safety and motorcycle design are discussed.

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.

The Application and the Driver Design of Double Axis Step-Drive Electromotor in the Motorcycle Meter

The traditional motorcycle meters are driven by the separate motors, these devices are simple and easy to be controlled, stable performance, but dial space has not been fully utilized. This paper introduces the double index show of motorcycle speed and speed，focus on analysis of dual-axis stepper motor driven connections, drive mode and the driver circuit design. The results of experiment and application shows that the coaxial two-pointer motorcycle display instrument has good repeatability, good linear scale, fast response, no jitter, high reliability and relatively small size and many other advantages, instrumentation stepper motor driver with dual-axis motor instrument design meet the relevant requirements of motorcycle meter, can be easily to achieve motor servo system driven synchronous control of double axis step-drive electromotor.

Driving cycle for motorcycles in modern cities: case studies of Edinburgh and Delhi

Driving cycle is an essential requirement to evaluate the exhaust emissions of various types of vehicles on the chassis dynamometer test. This study presents a real world comparison of the driving cycles of Edinburgh motorcycles in two world cities; Edinburgh in Scotland and Delhi in India. The two driving cycles (EMDC & DMDC) driving cycle (EMDC) that were was developed through the analysis of experimental data. This data was collected from trips on a number of routes in each city. In Edinburgh, five different routes between the home addresses in the surrounding areas and place of work at Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh were selected. In Delhi data were collected in East Delhi (Geeta Calony) to Central Delhi (Raisena Road). The data collected data was divided into two categories of urban and rural roads in the case of Edinburgh while it was only the urban route in Delhi.. Forty four trips were made on the five designated routes in both urban and rural areas and 12 trips were made in Delhi. The aims of the study were to assess the various parameters (i.e. motorcycle speed, cruise, accelerations and decelerations and percentage time spent in idling) and their statistical validity over total trip lengths for producing a real world EMDC in each of the two cities. The results show that EMDC in Edinburgh, the EMDC has a cycle length of 770 and 656 seconds for urban and rural trips, respectively, which was found more than ECE cycle length. Time spent in acceleration and deceleration modes were found to be significantly higher than any other driving cycle reported to date for motorcycles, reflecting a typical characteristic of the driving cycle in Edinburgh; this was presumably due to diverse driving conditions of motorcycles in the city. In Delhi on the other hand, the DMDC has a cycle length of 847.5 seconds for the urban trips, which higher than that of the EMDC length. The overall percentage time spent in acceleration in Delhi was higher than that of Edinburgh while the time spent in deceleration was lower in Delhi. The overall average speed in the case of Delhi was slightly higher than that of Edinburgh.

Design on Same Axis Double Index of Motorcycle Based on MCU

A new design method on showing motorcycle velocity and speed is introduced, which is controlled by P87LPC64 SCM and driven by VID66-08 CMOS chip. It consist of some module including SCM, sensor, velocity information unit, speed information unit, mileage information unit, mileage drive, double axis step-drive electromotor index show, LED show module. The system has some trait such as new exterior, low cost, hign precision, little error, direct show, micromation. Experiment result prove that the method is effective.

INDIKATOR FAKTOR MANUSIA TERHADAP KECELAKAAN SEPEDA MOTOR

With regard to the problem of motorcycle accidents in Indonesia, the human factor is unique and complex factors. In this study, an analysis of the contribution of the indicators of human factor in a motorcycle accident was conducted. The results show that lack of discipline committed by riders and high vehicle speeds contribute to and affect motorcycle accident occurrence significantly. Although not too dominant, the rider emotion, lack of concentration when driving, and lack of maturity also have a significant influence on thespeed of motorcycles.Keywords: motorcycle accidents, human factors, lack of discipline, motorcycle speed

Real world driving cycle for motorcycles in Edinburgh

Knowledge of the driving cycle is an important requirement in the evaluation of exhaust emissions. Data were collected from trips performed on five routes between the home addresses in the surrounding areas and place of work at Napier University in Edinburgh. A real world Edinburgh motorcycle driving cycle (EMDC) is developed for each of the urban and rural roads, using this data. Forty-four trips were made on the routes in both urban and rural areas. We assess motorcycle speed, percentage time spent in cruise, accelerations, decelerations and idling and their statistical validity over trip lengths. The results show that EMDC has a cycle length of 770 and 656 s for urban and rural trips, which are higher than those of the European Commission’s driving cycle for cars used for emission estimations of motorcycles. Time spent in acceleration and deceleration modes of EMDC are found to be significantly higher than in other driving cycle studies, reflecting diverse driving conditions in Edinburgh.

Confidence limits for motorcycle speed from slide distance

In many motorcycle accidents, the motorcycle falls to the ground and slides to rest following impact or loss of control. The determination of the motorcycle speed just prior to ‘fall-over’ is important for biomechanics research and for litigation. This paper presents a new model of motorcycle fall-over and slide, which accounts for the loss of horizontal momentum resulting from the initial motorcycle-to-ground impact and the subsequent slide to rest. The model includes cases involving motorcycle fall-over owing to loss of control as well as impact. The models represent both the mean and variation present in the available experimental data for dry roads very well and are used to develop confidence limits for accident reconstruction purposes, in cases where only the motorcycle slide distance along the ground is known. Previously proposed confidence limit criteria are applied to predicting motorcycle speed ranges from slide distance, and it is shown that the level of prediction uncertainty can be substantially reduced in cases where additional information specific to the vehicle and road configurations is available.

Motorcycle Rider Trajectory in Pitch-Over Brake Applications and Impacts

This paper describes how pitch-over events are common in motorcycle accidents, and can be caused by impact to the front wheel and occasionally by hard brake application. In either case, the rider of the motorcycle can be propelled over the handlebars as the motorcycle pitches rear-end up. In accidents caused by pitch-over braking, the accident investigator may be faced with limited evidence and then must rely on analyzing the throw distance of the rider in attempting to reconstruct the pre-accident speed of the motorcycle. This analysis can be complicated by the presence of a second rider (the passenger) on the motorcycle. Pitch over caused by front wheel impact can be similarly complex. Although motorcycle deformation as a result of front wheel impact has been studied, circumstances surrounding the nature of the deformation, or the impact itself, may require that the trajectory of the rider be analyzed in order to determine the pre-impact motorcycle speed. A series of sled tests was conducted to analyze rider and passenger motion during pitch-over events to develop a more complete understanding of how deceleration and initial speed affect the occupant trajectory and velocity. Brake stops were simulated on the sled as well as front wheel impacts. A full-scale crash test was also conducted and compared against the results of the sled simulations. High-speed video footage was analyzed to develop an understanding of the pitch-over dynamics as well as rider/passenger trajectories and velocities. This paper presents the results of this study and offers a method for accident reconstructionists to employ as they examine motorcycle accidents that involve pitch-over events.