Roundabout Attributes Toward Safety Preferences of Motorcycle Riders

Abstract

Thailand currently has roundabouts as a popular choice for controlling traffic at intersections to address road accident problems, but the current design of roundabouts in Thailand does not consider motorcycle riders as much as it should leading to issues with motorcycle collisions with other vehicles around roundabout and leading to serious accident. The purpose of this study is to determine preferred attributes of roundabout of motorcycle riders on safety perspective. The authors studies five attributes of roundabouts towards safety perspective, including central island size, number of circulating lanes, bicycle facility type, motor vehicle volumes, and approach speed limit. authors collected data by the questionnaire according to the stated preference survey. Authors simulated many roundabouts with various attributes and established a set of two different roundabouts for motorcycle riders to choose a roundabout which they preferred towards safety. collected data from a group of 640 motorcycle riders in Khon Kaen University (n=640). Authors analyzed the data using the binary logit model. The results revealed that motorcycle riders preferred roundabouts towards safety which their attributes were small central islands, low number of travel lane, low speed limits, low traffic volume, and separated lane for motorcycles. The data analysis results can be used to identify preferred attributes of roundabout of motorcycle and suggest guidelines for the design of roundabouts that are suitable and safe for motorcycles.