Article

Naturalistic study of the risky situations faced by novice riders

Taylor & Francis
Ergonomics
Authors:
  • ERGO-CENTRE
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Abstract

This article sets out to identify the typical risky situations experienced by novice motorcyclists in the real world just after licensing. The procedure consists of a follow-up of six novices during their first two months of riding with their own motorbike instrumented with cameras. The novices completed logbooks on a daily basis in order to identify the risky situations they encountered, and were given face-to-face interviews to identify the context and their shortcomings during the reported events. Data show a large number of road configurations considered as risky by the riders (248 occurrences), especially during the first two weeks. The results revealed that a lack of hazard perception skills contributed to the majority of these incidents. These situations were grouped together to form clusters of typical incident scenarios on the basis of their similarities. The most frequent scenario corresponds to a lane change in dense traffic (15% of all incidents). The discussion shows how this has enhanced our understanding of novice riders’ behaviour and how the findings can improve training and licensing. Lastly, the main methodological limitations of the study and some guidelines for improving future naturalistic riding studies are presented. Practitioner Summary: This article aims to identify the risky situations of novice motorcyclists in real roads. Two hundred forty-eight events were recorded and 13 incident scenarios identified. Results revealed that a lack of hazard perception contributed to the majority of these events. The most frequent scenario corresponds to a lane change in dense traffic.

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... Another challenge is weaving, creating turbulence, impacting progress, and resulting in low capacity and creating bottlenecks in road systems [96]. The leading cause of death in road traffic accidents [164] is the increased injuries sustained in road crashes [8,12,26,42,66,74,75,118,152,154,[164][165][166][167][168][169][170][171][172]. Previous studies indicated that approximately one-quarter of mortalities from traffic accidents involved motorcycle drivers [33,47,51,159,173,174]. ...
... Another reason is to improve the driving performance of motorcyclists, identify the causes behind motorcycle accidents [50,157], promote road safety [25,38,54,76,94,121,152,154,185,186], reduce motorcycle fatalities [108,159], avoid accidents [51,110], and improve road safety education amongst all motorcyclists [53,99]. Others looked into safety from different perspectives, such as improved traffic system safety [18,187,188] and motorcycle safety [76,78,92,97,119,123,127,162,165,173,179,180,[189][190][191][192]. Moreover, effective hazard detection is critical for hazard elimination and accident consequence reduction [81,118], the identification of possible hazards in their early stages before causing accidents [155], and the reduction in the probability of severe injuries [84,98,139,151]. ...
... Future research attention is drawn towards road safety in motorcycle driver behaviour studies. Examples include the following: finding the effective ways to improve road safety [165], installing motorcycle-friendly roadside barriers to protect from hitting light poles and trees [192], strengthening the traffic laws and regulations along with the traffic safety education by creating awareness of road safety through different public media [25,33,89,190], developing simulation models [3,98,163], protecting the motorcycle driver [25,33,161,164,198] reducing accidents [89,123,187,189,199], avoiding fatal injuries [19,53,100,151] and increasing road safety by predicting the driving performances [51,153,200]. However, some scholars suggested developing limited warning systems to reduce accidents [172]. ...
Article
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With the continuous emergence of new technologies and the adaptation of smart systems in transportation, motorcyclist driving behaviour plays an important role in the transition towards intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Studying motorcyclist driving behaviour requires accurate models with accurate and complete datasets for better road safety and traffic management. As accuracy is needed in modelling, motorcyclist driving behaviour analyses can be performed using sensors that collect driving behaviour characteristics during real-time experiments. This review article systematically investigates the literature on motorcyclist driving behaviour to present many findings related to the issues, problems, challenges, and research gaps that have existed over the last 10 years (2011–2021). A number of digital databases (i.e., IEEE Xplore®, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science) were searched and explored to collect reliable peer-reviewed articles. Out of the 2214 collected articles, only 174 articles formed the final set of articles used in the analysis of the motorcyclist research area. The filtration process consisted of two stages that were implemented on the collected articles. Inclusion criteria were the core of the first stage of the filtration process keeping articles only if they were a study or review written in English or were articles that mainly incorporated the driving style of motorcyclists. The second phase of the filtration process is based on more rules for article inclusion. The criteria of inclusion for the second phase of filtration examined the deployment of motorcyclist driver behaviour characterisation procedures using a real-time-based data acquisition system (DAS) or a questionnaire. The final number of articles was divided into three main groups: reviews (7/174), experimental studies (41/174), and social studies-based articles (126/174). This taxonomy of the literature was developed to group the literature into articles with similar types of experimental conditions. Recommendation topics are also presented to enable and enhance the pace of the development in this research area. Research gaps are presented by implementing a substantial analysis of the previously proposed methodologies. The analysis mainly identified the gaps in the development of data acquisition systems, model accuracy, and data types incorporated in the proposed models. Finally, research directions towards ITS are provided by exploring key topics necessary in the advancement of this research area.
... This result is in line with the conclusions derived from accident statistics (DEKRA, 2010), but has to be interpreted as data gathered under US traffic and road conditions. Furthermore, a European naturalistic riding investigation was performed with a similar aim, to identify the risky situations experienced by novice motorcycle riders (Aupetit et al., 2016). A possible application of the NRS data was published by Attal et al. (2014), who employed machine learning algorithms to automatically classify the riding situation. ...
... Once the patterns have been defined in a more controlled setup, such rather rare events in a long term NRS do not considerably influence the results, given the large number of observations. It must be stated that these critical incidences may be regarded as disturbances when focusing on typical riding behavior; however, they are significant when investigating hazardous situations (Aupetit et al., 2016). ...
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... To answer these questions, three longitudinal studies have been set up in France's largest cities: Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Our theoretical framework is based on the ergonomic analysis of human activity (Leplat, 2008) and more specifically the analysis of driving activity (Aupetit et al., 2016). Within this framework, we will mainly use the methods of self-confrontation and explicitation interviews of Vermersch (Vermersch, 2019) and Theureau (Theureau, 2010). ...
Conference Paper
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This work is part of a research project called NewMob, funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and supervised by Université Paris Cité and Ergocentre.In France, we are witnessing strong growth in the number and type of Personal Light Electric Véhicule (PLEVs), as well as an increase in the number and severity of accidents involving these users. (Osnir, 2023) As a result, there is a general need for more knowledge about the behaviors of the various users of PLEVs and the risk situations they encounter on their journeys. The research question we will develop in this article is therefore as follows: To what extent can taking human factors into account in the risk situations encountered by users of new mobility help to improve their safety in the city?To investigate this question, we have set up three long-term studies in France's three biggest cities: Paris, Lyon and Marseille. These studies are part of the ergonomic analysis of human activity. (Leplat, 2015) Field methods were used to track and analyze the journeys of 150 participants: 65 electric bikes, 60 electric scooters and 25 gyroroues. Over a 2-month period, participants recorded all their daily journeys (video and data), and were able to report any risky situations they encountered during their journeys. For each situation, the participant had to fill in a detailed form, enabling us to analyze a total of around 955 risky situations collected. Two self-confrontation interviews enabled us to analyze the participants' situated experience of risky situations, their ways of dealing with incidents, and the strategies and compromises they implemented during their journeys.Vehicle dynamic data were recorded for a total of 9,124 trips, covering a distance of over 33,000 kilometers. This data include acceleration, speed, braking and lateral variations, enabling us to gather a wealth of statistical data, and to objectively qualify the criteria for identifying a high-risk situation (emergency avoidance, braking force, etc.). A major challenge of this project is to be able to cross-analyze the subjective data collected during interviews with objective vehicle dynamics data, enabling us to establish a complete overview of the different risk situations encountered by users of new urban mobility in France. Initial results are emerging from ongoing data analysis, and we will be able to present in greater detail the cross-profiling of participants across the various study methods (type of vehicle, number of risky situations, severity of situations, average speed of journeys, speeds in risky situations, participants' relationship to risk, etc.). Additionally, we will present the results of analyses on the main types of risky situations encountered by participants, along with comparisons between the different cities analyzed.
... Results revealed that most of the crashes were low-speed ground impact crashes. Aiming at understanding the behavior of novice riders, Aupetit et al. (2016) studied the riding behavior of six novice riders and observed that lack of hazard perception skills was the main reason behind safety critical situations encountered by novice riders. Authors also identified that lane changing in dense traffic was the most frequent (15%) incident scenario. ...
... Furthermore, in an a-depth Chinese crash data study conducted by Wang et al. [45], it was reported that poor visibility is one of the major contributors to road traffic crashes. Also, in a study by Aupetit et al. [46] to identify the risky situations of novice motorcyclists on real roads, 13 incident scenarios were identified among novice motorcyclists, among which loss of control due to wind or a slippery road. ...
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Road crash injuries have emerged as a significant public health issue in many low and middle-income countries in recent years. In India, motorized two-wheelers comprise 70% of the vehicle population and are considered the most vulnerable road users. Road crash injury is common among the young-aged population leading to premature deaths. It is essential to understand risky riding behaviors to develop accurate, evidence-based risk reduction programmes that fit the target population’s characteristics and the intervention setting. The current study aims to improve the understanding of the typical characteristics of motorcycle crashes among young riders in India, primarily focusing on the prevalence and role of risky riding behaviors. Five focus group discussions with eight to ten participants in each group (N = 35) were conducted in Manipal, in the Karnataka state of Southwestern India. A thematic analysis was completed using MAXQDA software to identify, analyze, and report on themes within the data. Speeding, riding under the influence of alcohol, and the poor maintenance of motorcycles were indicated as leading causes of crashes. Furthermore, using mobile phones while riding, violations of the traffic rules, and helmet non-use were identified as other risky behaviors among young riders. Future research can be taken up in other settings for the target population. Generational awareness with the involvement of young riders, government authorities, university officials, and the Regional Transport Office can be initiated. Engaging young riders, government authorities, university officials, and the Regional Transport Office through behavioral interventions such as persuasive communication techniques, an active experimental approach (such as the use of a simulator), and regulating the licensing procedure can reduce the number of road crashes.
... In the last 2 decades, there is growing concern over motorcycle riders' safety mainly due to the increased use of powered two wheelers, over 50 cc in urban settings (World Health Organization 2017;Penumaka et al. 2014;Blackman and Haworth 2013;Jamson and Chorlton 2009). There is also increasing interest in improving riders' safety via educational interventions [e.g., training hazard perception skills of novice riders (Aupetit et al. 2013(Aupetit et al. , 2016Crundall et al. 2013;Vidotto et al. 2008Vidotto et al. , 2011Hosking et al. 2010) or novice drivers Scialfa et al. 2012;Wetton et al. 2011;Horswill and McKenna 2004)] and infrastructural ones [e.g., road signs or online monitoring systems for warning riders/drivers of potential events (Cavallo et al. 2015;Rogé et al. 2015;Fisher and Garay-Vega 2012;Walker et al. 2011)]. Currently, such interventions are mainly focused on overt hazards; however, it has been demonstrated that experienced riders/drivers tend to focus on multiple potential sources of hazards in the visual scene prior to the appearance of the hazard (Gugliotta et al. 2017;Ventsislavova et al. 2016;Crundall 2016;Taylor et al. 2013;Underwood et al. 2009a, b for review). ...
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... The interviewer guided cyclists to put their experience into words. This method aimed at collecting verbal description on feelings, sensations, internal states, and thoughts that were experienced by the cyclist for each situation considered (Aupetit, Gallier, Riff, Espié, & Delgehier, 2016;Aupetit et al., 2013;Vermersch, 1994). ...
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This study reports an experiment that compared the hazard perception abilities of experienced and novice motorcycle riders using an interactive, closed-loop, simulator. Participants (n = 49) were categorized into four groups: experienced motorcycle riders with full driver licence, inexperienced motorcycle riders with full driver licence, novice motorcycle riders with full driver licence, and novice motorcycle riders with probationary driver licence. The participants were tested on three scenarios, each consisting of eight hazardous events. They were instructed to ride normally, but to respond appropriately to avoid the hazards. Under certain conditions in the simulator, we found that experienced riders (relative to inexperienced or novice riders) crashed less often, received better performance evaluations, and approached hazards at more appropriate speeds. Interestingly, we also found that some novice riders were overconfident in their riding ability. We discuss how this overconfidence might be related to hazard perception.
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The current study compares hazard perception (HP) performance of 50 male drivers with and without a motorcycle license in order to generalize results. A video-based HP test, measuring reaction times to traffic scenes, was administered to these two groups of drivers. Participants with a motorcycle license performed better than participants without a motorcycle license. ANOVA indicated that learning improved linearly for participants with a motorcycle license but not for participants without a motorcycle license. No evidence that HP was predicted by age was found. HP scores for drivers who reported previous involvement in an accident were lower than for those who reported not being involved in an accident. The results are discussed in the context of sensitivity and response bias models.
Article
Young drivers are statistically overrepresented in road accidents. Their elevated risk is a complex function of chronological age and driving experience, both of which are associated with acceptance and misperception of risk on the road. A better understanding of the cognitive changes which accompany their transition from novice to experienced driver status should allow us to elucidate the factors underlying their acceptance and misperception of traffic risk. With such an understanding, we would be in a better position to take decisions about improving their safety via training and education schemes rather than via legislative constraints on their exposure to risk. This paper considers evidence that young drivers underestimate certain traffic hazards and overestimate their own driving abilities. The potential contribution of these misperceptions to their faulty decision taking during skills acquisition is discussed in the light of recent findings from relevant research. Some implications for future research and the development of accident countermeasures are indicated.
Article
Sumario: This paper is not so much a synthesis as a reflection on work analysis in French language ergonomics. It is structured around two questions. First, how is francophone analysis positioned in relation to other developments which themselves have attempted to describe work, like anglophone taxonomy?. Second, how has francophone analysis evolved?. The author suggests that the evolution reveals a shift. Gradually, over the years, questions of meaning and analisys have taken on a greater importance. This shift appears clearly, in work analysis and verbalization, two topics which are discussed in the paper
Article
Hazard perception is a critical skill for road users. In this study, an open-loop motorcycle simulator was used to examine the effects of motorcycle riding and car driving experience on hazard perception and visual scanning patterns. Three groups of participants were tested: experienced motorcycle riders who were experienced drivers (EM-ED), inexperienced riders/experienced drivers (IM-ED), and inexperienced riders/inexperienced drivers (IM-ID). Participants were asked to search for hazards in simulated scenarios, and click a response button when a hazard was identified. The results revealed a significant monotonic decrease in hazard response times as experience increased from IM-ID to IM-ED to EM-ED. Compared to the IM-ID group, both the EM-ED and IM-ED groups exhibited more flexible visual scanning patterns that were sensitive to the presence of hazards. These results point to the potential benefit of training hazard perception and visual scanning in motorcycle riders, as has been successfully demonstrated in previous studies with car drivers.
Article
This paper reviews models that emphasize the cognitive components of driving behavior. Studies of individual differences have sought predictors of accident histories. Typically low correlations and reliance on post hoc explanations reflect theoretical deficiencies and problems with the use of accident measures. Motivational models emphasize transient, situation-specific factors rather than stable, individual predictors. However, neither testable hypotheses nor suitable methods have been developed to study situational factors and motives that influence driving. More recent models have incorporated a hierarchical control structure, which assumes concurrent activity at strategic, maneuvering, and operational levels of control. At the same time, automaticity has emerged as a central construct in cognitive psychology. All activities are assumed to combine fast, automatic components with slower, more deliberate, controlled processing. It is argued that identifying the situational factors that increase drivers' uncertainty and thus trigger a shift in attention from automatic to controlled processing will help integrate concepts of automaticity and motivational models. Finally, recent theorizing has suggested that errors associated with the inherent variability of human behavior may be more important to roadway crash causation than systematic errors, which are attributable to the known limits of the human information-processing system. Drivers' abilities to recover from errors may also be important to crash causation. It is concluded that the hierarchical control structure and theories of automaticity and errors provide the potential tools for defining alternative criterion measures, such as safety margins, and developing testable theories of driving behavior and crash causation. Two examples of models that integrate information-processing mechanisms within a motivational framework are described.
Article
Young drivers' accident involvement may be explained by a number of different factors, one of which is that they tend to overestimate their skill in driving a car. This study is based upon the assumption that the degree of overestimation is related to the type of training the driver has received. In an experiment, two different strategies for training have been compared with regard to their influence on estimated and actual driving skill, as well as the drivers' degree of overestimation of their own skill. One of the strategies, used in the "skill" group was to make the learner as skilled as possible in handling a braking and avoidance manoeuvre in a critical situation. The other strategy, used in the "insight" group was to make the driver aware of the fact that his own skill in braking and avoidance in critical situations may be limited and unpredictable. The experiment was carried out at the Bromma driving practice area in Stockholm. Low friction has been simulated by using "Skid Car" equipment. Fifty-three learner drivers were randomly divided into two groups. Each of the groups was taught on the basis of one of the strategies. The training session was 30 minutes long. One week later, the drivers returned to take part in a test of their estimated and actual skill. The "skill" group estimated their skill higher than the "insight" group. No difference was found between the groups regarding their actual skill. The results confirm the main hypothesis that the skill training strategy produces more false overestimation than the insight training strategy.
Article
The concept of prototypical accident scenario has been used since the late 1980s in French road safety research. A prototypical scenario can be defined as a prototype of the accident process corresponding to a series of accidents which are similar in terms of the chain of facts and causal relationships found throughout the various accident stages. This concept provides a means of combining and generalising the knowledge obtained from accident case studies, based on in-depth investigation methods or on detailed analyses of police reports. Applications of this concept are developed in both the field of traffic accident research and safety studies (diagnoses) in preparation for engineering measures or local safety policies. This paper presents the prototypical scenario concept, its theoretical background, and the way it is used for safety research and studies.
Literature Review of Data Analysis for Naturalistic Driving Study
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