STOPPING AND HAZARD ANTICIPATION BEHAVIORS AMONG MOTORCYCLISTS AT UNSIGNALIZED T-JUNCTION: A FIELD STUDY
Author: Muhammad Syamim Zikri BAHARUDIN, Ammar ADNAN, Radin Zaid RADIN UMAR, Siby SAMUEL, Mohd Hanafi ANI, Malek HAMID
Abstract: Hazard anticipation is an essential skill for the road user, especially the vulnerable road user group. This is because the vulnerable road user group have the highest risk of road injuries due to no external protection. Among the group, the number of road deaths involving motorcyclists is at an alarming state. By comparing the number of road accidents at the intersections, T-junction has a higher rate than cross-junction. Thus, the aim of the study is to evaluate motorcyclists’ behavior at the unsignalized T-junctions. The objectives are: (i) to evaluate the stopping behavior of motorcyclists at the stop area when approaching the T-junction; and (ii) to evaluate the head movement behavior of motorcyclists before turning into traffic. A field study was conducted at fifteen scenarios that were combined into one complete circuit. Twenty male participants between the ages of 18-29 years old were recruited for the study. The participants were equipped with a head tracker in order to analyse their stopping behavior and head movements at the T-junctions. Dependent variables for this study were the stopping behavior and the hazard anticipation score of motorcyclists. If a motorcyclist stops at T-junction before entering the primary route, he was scored 1, and 0 if not stopping. Besides, a motorcyclist was also scored 1 if he performed head movement (anticipate potential hazard) before entering the primary route, and 0 if not performed. In general, the performance of the motorcyclists at the unsignalized T-juntion is poor. The average percentage of motorcyclists who did not stop is higher (72.3%) than motorcyclists who stopped at the stop area. For the head movement, a majority of the motorcyclists only performed a single head turn towards the opposite area they are intended to turn into. While for the second and third head movement, a majority of the motorcyclists are neglect making the head turns. The head turn is performed only when there is high traffic volume and when the vision of motorcyclists was blocked. The results from this study provide an additional insight into the hazard anticipation skill among Malaysia motorcyclists. Moreover, driving schools need to emphasize more on hazard anticipation skill in driving curricular in order to improve road safety among motorcyclists.
Keywords: Road Safety, Hazard Anticipation, Unsignalized T-junction, Head Movement, Stopping Behavior