Process to Determine Locations for Motorcycle Counts

D Middleton, S Geedipally… - Transportation Research …, 2014 - journals.sagepub.com
D Middleton, S Geedipally, R Scopatz
Transportation Research Record, 2014journals.sagepub.com
Increasing rates of motorcyclist fatalities and registrations but decreasing reported vehicle
miles traveled (VMT) resulted in suspicions that motorcycle monitoring programs need
improvement. Better detection of motorcycles (FHWA Class 1 vehicles) is needed as is
guidance on locations to capture representative counts of motorcycles. This study
investigated a method to help states determine where to locate sites for motorcycle counts.
The research team hoped to find one or more states whose data collection methodology …
Increasing rates of motorcyclist fatalities and registrations but decreasing reported vehicle miles traveled (VMT) resulted in suspicions that motorcycle monitoring programs need improvement. Better detection of motorcycles (FHWA Class 1 vehicles) is needed as is guidance on locations to capture representative counts of motorcycles. This study investigated a method to help states determine where to locate sites for motorcycle counts. The research team hoped to find one or more states whose data collection methodology (especially the methods used to identify count sites) could provide an example to guide other states but did not find any. The alternative approach investigated by this research project was the use of motorcycle crashes to determine whether a correlation existed between crash locations and motorcycle counts. Analysis of crashes in four states indicated that locations of motorcycle crashes were reasonably good predictors of where to count motorcycles.
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