Intersection Glance & Stopping Behavior: Riders vs Drivers

Introduction:

Over the last decade, motorcycle fatalities have increased significantly while other motor vehicle fatalities have declined. A substantial portion of these fatal motorcycle crashes occur at intersections, often due to other drivers failing to see the motorcyclist. However, there is a lack of research regarding the behavioral patterns of motorcyclists themselves as they negotiate intersections. This study was conducted to compare the glancing and stopping behaviors of the same individuals when operating a motorcycle versus driving a car. The researchers hypothesized that differences would exist in how participants looked downstream, how often they glanced at the road surface, their likelihood of checking for hazards at stop lines, and their tendency to come to a complete stop.

Methodology:

The study utilized a within-subjects research design involving 32 participants (26 men and 6 women) who were experienced driver-motorcyclists. Participants navigated a course through low-volume residential roads for approximately 50 minutes, completing five laps in a 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 650R and five laps in a 2009 Dodge Charger. To capture data, researchers equipped participants with MobileEye eye-tracking glasses to record glance information and instrumented both vehicles with triaxial accelerometers and GPS systems. Data collection focused on seven specific locations, including T-intersections and areas with road surface anomalies like sand. Performance was analyzed using repeated-measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare behavior across transportation modes and different threat conditions.

Results:

The findings revealed significant behavioral differences between riding and driving:

• Glancing Behavior: Participants were significantly less likely to make a “last glance” toward oncoming traffic immediately before starting a turn while on a motorcycle compared to when they were in a car. Specifically, when making a left turn across traffic, drivers checked for opposing vehicles 60% more often than they did when they were riding.
• Pavement Glances: Motorcyclists made 30% more glances at the road surface (pavement) than car drivers, particularly when navigating turns or sandy patches. This suggests that concern for road surface debris or traction issues may distract riders from monitoring intersection hazards.
• Stopping Compliance: Motorcyclists were far less likely to come to a complete stop at stop signs. While participants made a complete stop 69% of the time in a car, they did so only 39% of the time on a motorcycle.
• Search Area: The visual search area for motorcyclists was nearly 10 degrees larger both vertically and horizontally than that of car drivers, indicating more off-road glances and a lack of a constrained search pattern.

These results suggest that motorcyclists may expose themselves to unnecessary risk by prioritizing motorcycle control and road surface monitoring over intersection threat detection. The researchers recommend updating training curricula to include techniques such as “delayed apexing” to allow for better hazard visibility before turning.

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