Chuthamat Laksanakit

This paper presents a review of past research works that examined factors affecting motorcycle safety, focusing on: human errors, infrastructure defects, vehicle defects and their interaction which contribute to motorcycle crashes, with the aim of highlighting the need for more research on the effect of motorcycle defects on safety. Overview of the global motorcycle crash situation was conducted using data and various information sources, including the World Health Organization, Science Direct and Transportation Research Institute, the University of Michigan. Non-English publications on motorcyclists and motorcycles were consulted. Sources of motorcycle accident information in Thailand included those of the Royal Thai Police, Department of Land Transport, and Road Accident Victims Protection. Key words used in the search included motorcycle safety, motorcycle crash/accident, motorcycle stability/balance, motorcycle defects, and motorcyclist. The results show that human errors, speeding, alcohol impairment, disregard of traffic laws, and inexperience are the most common factors involved in a motorcycle crash. Although vehicle defects such as defective components, (e.g. head lamp, stop lamp, front brake, rear brake, improper tire pressure) played a relatively small part of all the factors affecting motorcycle crash, but the effect was significant and increasing. One finding was clear from the review, very few research works have been done on the mechanism of motorcycle crashes due to motorcycle defects, especially those involving light weight motorcycle (101-125 cc) which is the most popular model in Thailand. Thus the study of the influence of the motorcycle and its components on a crash is needed. The outcomes of the research will help identify safer motorcycle components, including betters tire, anti-lock braking system, crash bar, stability control system, and personal protective equipment.

This study examines the potential of dynamic properties of motorcycle on its stability. The focus was on motorcycle riding and cornering stability as influenced by tyre width which is the key component in the transfer of forces and moments from the vehicle to the road surface. The suitable tyre width could contribute to increased motorcycle stability. Straight running and slalom riding tests were carried out. Three tyre sets with varying tyre widths, and four speed levels (three speed levels for slalom test) were used to represent independent variables. Tyre set A which was an original equipment manufacturer one has 70 mm tyre width for the front wheel and 80 mm tyre width for the rear. Tyre set B comprises tyres with 90 mm width for both front and rear wheel; and set C comprises 110 mm tyre for the front and 120 mm for the rear. Four riding speeds of 20, 30, 40 and 60 km/h were used in the experiment. The controlled variables were a test motorcycle which was a typical lightweight 1...

This paper presents a review of past research works that examined factors affecting motorcycle safety, focusing on: human errors, infrastructure defects, vehicle defects and their interaction which contribute to motorcycle crashes, with the aim of highlighting the need for more research on the effect of motorcycle defects on safety. Overview of the global motorcycle crash situation was conducted using data and various information sources, including the World Health Organization, Science Direct and Transportation Research Institute, the University of Michigan. Non-English publications on motorcyclists and motorcycles were consulted. Sources of motorcycle accident information in Thailand included those of the Royal Thai Police, Department of Land Transport, and Road Accident Victims Protection. Key words used in the search included motorcycle safety, motorcycle crash/accident, motorcycle stability/balance, motorcycle defects, and motorcyclist. The results show that human errors, speed...