Publication

Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable to injury in crashes with heavy vehicles due to substantial differences in vehicle mass, the degree of protection and speed. This study aims to evaluate the effects of motorcycle conspicuity treatments on the identification and detection of motorcycles by truck drivers. Two complementary experiments were performed; the first experiment examined motorcycle sensory conspicuity, and the second experiment focused on motorcycle cognitive conspicuity. In the first experiment, participants were presented with 10 pictures and instructed to report the kinds of vehicles that were present in the pictures. In the second experiment, participants were presented with the same set of pictures and instructed to respond as soon as they detected a motorcycle in the picture. The results indicate that the motorcycle detection rates increases, and the response time to search for a motorcycle decrease, as the distance between the targeted motorcycle and the viewer decreases. This is true regardless of the type of conspicuity treatment used. The use of daytime running headlight (DRH) was found to increase the detection rate and the identification of a motorcycle by a truck driver at a farther distance, but deteriorate as the distance decreases. The results show that the detection rate and the identification of a motorcyclist wearing a black helmet with a reflective sticker increases as the distance between the motorcycle and the truck decreases. We also found that a motorcyclist wearing a white helmet and white outfit is more identifiable and detectable at both shorter and longer distances. In conclusion, although this study provides evidence that the use of appropriate conspicuity treatments enhances motorcycle conspicuity to truck drivers, we suggest that more attention should be paid to the effect of background environment on motorcycle conspicuity.