Driving characteristics of quad bikes and the riders’ knowledge of these characteristics

Att köra fyrhjuling skiljer sig på många sätt ifrån att köra bil och det är inte alltid som föraren är medveten om svårigheterna att behålla kontrollen över ett fordon som man inte är utbildad och tränad att köra. En av de stora skillnaderna mot att köra bil är att en fyrhjuling har en mer eller mindre tendens att välta vid skarpa svängar. Syftet med studien är att jämföra både statiska fordonsegenskaper och dynamiska köregenskaper hos motorcykelregistrerade fyrhjulingar av olika modeller för att identifiera eventuella svårigheter som kan uppstå då fyrhjulingar framförs i vägtrafik. Syftet är vidare att studera hur förarnas körstil påverkar fyrhjulingarnas dynamiska köregenskaper samt kartlägga förarnas kunskap om köregenskaperna. Studien består av tre delar där de två första handlar om fyrhjulingens köregenskaper som studerades genom att utföra en serie statiska och dynamiska tester på fordonen. De statiska testerna bestod av att mäta vid vilken vinkel som fordonen välter åt sidorna med hjälp av ett hydrauliskt tiltbord. De dynamiska testerna bestod av att utföra en serie körningar på olika testbanor för att studera hur fyrhjulingarna betedde sig i olika situationer. Den tredje delen handlade om hur kunskapsläget ser ut hos de som har behörighet att köra fyrhjuling. Den frågeställningen besvarades med hjälp av fokusgruppsintervjuer med personer med olika erfarenhet av fyrhjulingskörning samt olika körkortsbehörighet. Resultaten av de statiska testerna visade att fyrhjulingars vältningsbenägenhet påverkas mycket av om det sitter en person på eller ej. Detta beror på att föraren påverkar ekipagets tyngdpunkt förhållandevis mycket eftersom fyrhjulingar är relativt sett lätta fordon. Resultaten från de dynamiska testerna bekräftar att vältrisken med fyrhjulingar är påverkningsbar av föraren så till vida att en mer aktiv körstil ökar chansen att klara en viss manöver jämfört med en passiv körstil. Fokusgruppsintervjuerna som genomfördes visar att de flesta personer som intervjuades anser att man behöver använda en aktiv körstil för att köra säkert men också att det saknas erforderlig utbildning i den befintliga körkortsutbildningen för B-behörighet som ger behörighet att framföra en mc-registrerad fyrhjuling på väg.Riding quad bikes differs in many ways from driving passenger cars and the rider is not always aware of the differences required to maintain control of a vehicle that they are not trained to ride. One of the major differences with quad bikes compared to driving a car is that a quad bike has a tendency to roll over during sharp cornering. The purpose of this study was to compare both static vehicle characteristics and driving dynamics of motorcycle-registered quad bikes of different models to identify any difficulties that may arise when using quad bikes in road traffic. The aim was also to study how driving style affects the quad bike’s driving dynamics and identify the riders' knowledge of these. The study consists of three parts of which the first two concerns vehicle handling characteristics studied by performing a series of 1) static and 2) dynamic performance tests. The static tests consisted of measuring the angle at which the vehicle rolled over sideways by means of a hydraulic tilting table. The dynamic test consisted of performing a series of test runs on different test tracks in order to study the dynamic behaviour of the quad bike. The third part addressed the question whether riders have the necessary knowledge to drive quad bikes safely by conducting focus group interviews with persons with different driving license categories and driving experience. The results of the static test showed that the rollover threshold of the quad bikes is affected by the weight of the rider due to the relative lightweight of the quad bike. The dynamic tests verified that the rider could, by using his/her own body weight, compensate for the physical forces acting upon the vehicles’ tendency to roll over by using an active driving style. The focus group interviews showed that most of the interviewed persons believe that an active driving style is needed to drive safely and that the current training for the driving license lacks necessary training for driving a quad bike

Evaluation of a mandatory risk-education program for learner drivers in Sweden

Den 1 juli 1999 ersattes den traditionella halkutbildningen med en ny, utökad riskutbildning för B-körkort. Målet var att lägga mer tonvikt på riskmedvetenhet, förutseende körsätt och insikt om egna begränsningar. Syftet med föreliggande rapport är att redovisa resultatet från en utvärdering som genomfördes före och efter genomförandet av den nya utbildningen. Studien genomfördes som en enkätstudie och målgruppen var nyblivna körkortstagare mellan 18 och 24 år. Resultaten baseras på 1 403 personer. Resultaten visar att deltagarna i efterstudien angav att de under utbildningen lärt sig mer om alkohol/droger och trötthet än deltagarna i förstudien. De ansåg också att de lärt sig mindre om körning på halt väglag, ABS-bromsar och antisladdsystem. Resultaten från kunskapsfrågorna visar att deltagarna i efterstudien hade en bättre kunskap om promillegräns för rattfylleri, krockvåld och ABS-bromsar. Deras inställning till trötthet och bilkörning förändrades. I viss mån var man också mer medveten om vad man borde göra för att motverka trötthet men man förespråkade fortfarande några felaktiga strategier. I likhet med deltagarnas inställning ändrades även deras intentioner men tyvärr inte alltid i rätt riktning. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten att de deltagare som genomgått den utökade riskutbildningen fått ökad kunskap och en trafiksäkrare inställning även om detta inte alltid avspeglade sig i en mera trafiksäker intention.On 1 July 1999 the mandatory skid training for learner drivers was replaced by a new expanded risk education program. The aim was to put emphasis on teaching pupils\u92 risk awareness instead of how to handle critical situations. The purpose of this report is to present the results from an evaluation conducted before and after the implementation of the new training program. The study used a postal survey and the target group was learner drivers aged 18 to 24 years. Results are based on 1,403 people. The results show that participants in the after study believed that they learnt more about drink/drug driving and fatigue than the participants in the before study. They also believed that they learnt less about driving on slippery road surfaces, ABS brakes and traction control

Can the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale be successfully used to predict Swedish drivers' speeding behaviour?

The first aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure of the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale in a Swedish sample of drivers. The second aim was to examine if this scale can be used to predict drivers' speeding behaviour. A sample of Swedish car owners (N = 223) completed a questionnaire including questions based on the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale as well as questions about their speeding behaviour. The results showed a five factor solution including own skills, own behaviour, other drivers, vehicle/environment and fate. Own behaviour and vehicle/environment could be used to predict drivers' speeding behaviour on roads with a 90 km/h speed limit while none of the variables included in the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale could be used to predict drivers' speeding behaviour on roads with a 50 km/h speed limit. On 90 km/h roads own behaviour was positively related to drivers' speeding behaviour while vehicle/environment was negatively related to their speeding behaviour

Drivers' propensity to have different types of intelligent speed adaptation installed in their cars

The aim of the present study was to examine if there are differences in drivers' propensity to have different types of intelligent speed adaptation installed in their cars depending on the sample of drivers (i e. Swedish or Turkish), their aberrant driving behaviours (i e. violations and errors), and/or the technical solution used (i.e speed limit information, advisory, supportive and intervening systems). A sample of 224 Swedish and 316 Turkish drivers completed a questionnaire Including questions based on the driver behaviour questionnaire (DBQ) as well as questions about the drivers' propensity to have different types of intelligent speed adaptation installed in their cars The results showed that the Swedish sample of drivers was less positive than the Turkish sample of drivers towards having the advisory, supportive and intervening systems installed Furthermore, drivers who frequently commit violations were less positive towards having any of these systems installed than were drivers who commit violations less frequently, while drivers who frequently make errors were more positive towards having the systems Installed than were drivers who make errors less frequently Both the Swedish and the Turkish sample of drivers were most positive towards having the speed limit information system installed, followed by the advisory system on second place, the supportive system on third place and lastly the intervening system on fourth place (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

Cross-cultural comparison of drivers' tendency to commit different aberrant driving behaviours

The first aim of the present study was to identify key items which are rated differently by drivers from Finland, Sweden, Greece and Turkey. The second aim was to examine how these key items relate to drivers' self-reported accident involvement. Similar comparisons have previously been conducted in Europe but these have only included items classified as violations and errors, but not lapses. A sample of Finnish (N = 200), Swedish (N = 200), Greek (N = 200) and Turkish (N = 200) drivers completed the driver behaviour questionnaire (DBQ) and reported their accident involvement during the previous 3 years. The results showed that nine key items (which drivers from different countries rated differently) could be identified. These items included two aggressive violations, four ordinary violations, three lapses, but no errors. Out of these nine items, five items (Become angered by a certain type of driver and indicate your hostility by whatever means you can, Disregard the speed limit on a motorway, Overtake a slow driver on the inside, Pull out of a junction solar that the driver with right of way has to stop and let you out and Get into the wrong lane approaching a roundabout or a junction) could explain differences in drivers' self-reported yearly accident involvement when all four countries were taken together. At the same time, none of the items could explain differences in self-reported yearly accident involvement in Finland and Sweden while one of the items (Overtake a slow driver on the inside) could explain differences in self-reported yearly accident involvement in Greece and two of the items (Become angered by a certain type of driver and indicate your hostility by whatever means you can and Disregard the speed limit on a residential road) could explain differences in self-reported yearly accident involvement in Turkey. This shows that different countries have different problems with regard to aberrant driving behaviours which need to be taken into account when promoting traffic safety interventions and the driver behaviour questionnaire (DBQ) can be used to diagnose risk areas and to better inform road safety practitioners within and between countries

Cross-cultural comparison of driving skills among students in four different countries

The first aim of the present study was to increase our knowledge of cultural differences in self-reported perceptual-motor skills and safety skills. The second aim was to examine the relationship between self-reported perceptual-motor skills, safety skills and accident involvement in four different countries. A sample of Finnish (N = 200), Swedish (N = 200), Greek (N = 200) and Turkish (N = 200) drivers completed a questionnaire based on the driver skill inventory (DSI) and reported their accident involvement during the previous 3 years. The results showed that Greek and Turkish drivers reported higher yearly accident involvement than did Swedish and Finnish drivers. Greek, Turkish and Swedish drivers reported stronger perceptual-motor skills than did Finnish drivers; while Greek, Turkish and Finnish drivers reported stronger safety skills than did Swedish drivers. This suggests that the country differences in self-reported perceptual-motor skills and safety skills do not reflect the differences in accident statistics on a country level. Moreover, self-reported safety skills were negatively related to self-reported yearly accident involvement in all four countries taken together as well as in Greece and Turkey taken separately. This suggests that differences in drivers' accident involvement are associated with their self-reported safety skills

Evaluation of programs teaching senior high school students the effects of drinking and driving

Det övergripande syftet med detta projekt var att utvärdera hur olika utbildningsprogram påverkar ungdomars inställning till rattfylleri. Påverkas ungdomarna mer av ett känsloladdat budskap, renfaktaöverföring eller krävs en kombination av både känsla och fakta? En enkät togs fram för utvärdering av programmen. Utvärderingen genomfördes i form av en före-/efterstudie där fyra. Resultaten visade att trots att faktakunskapen var låg före försöket noterades inte någon märkbar förbättring efter försöket. Däremot påverkades elevernas attityder och normer i positiv riktning. Med hänsyn till vilket utbildningsprogram som gav bästa resultat kan det konstateras att kombinationen fakta- och känslomässigt budskap hade störst påverkan i önskad riktning. Ytterligare ett syfte var att belysa ungdomars inställning till alkohol och trafik rent allmänt, och beskriva vad som påverkar deras intentioner att köra onyktra, åka med någon onykter förare samt försöka hindra någon onykter förare från att köra. Resultaten påverkades av elevernas attityd till själva handlingen utan också av i vilken grad de upplevde att de kunde kontrollera situationen samt av vad andra \u96 framförallt bästa kompisen \u96 tyckte om deras handlande. För att förändra beteendet i positiv riktning bör man därför diskutera grupptryck och öka elevernas möjlighet till kontroll över beteendet, vilket innebär att det måste bli lättare för dem att handla rätt. Ungdomarna bör också få diskutera rattfylleri på ett sätt som uppmuntrar till engagemang och de behöver hjälp att förstå konsekvenserna av att köra onykter. Studien avslutas med en diskussion om hur framtida utbildningsprogram kanplaneras och genomföras.The main aim of this study was to evaluate how different educational programmes affect young people's attitude to drink driving. The question was if they would be more influenced by an emotional message than by one based on facts or if a combination of both emotion and facts needed? A further aim was to explore young people's attitudes to alcohol and traffic in general, and describe what predicts their intentions to drink and drive, travel with somebody who has been drinking alcohol and prevent somebody from drinking and driving. The evaluation was conducted in the form of a before and after study comparing four different groups: three groups who took part in the educational program and one control group. The sample consisted of 1 178 students aged 15 to 20 years (mean age 16.5 yrs) from six different senior high schools (75% response rate)