Road Infrastructureband Safety of Powered Two-Wheelers

Power Two-Wheelers (PTWs) safety risk factors are examined in relation to the road infrastructure characteristics and the extent and magnitude of their influence to the PTW accidentology is discussed. In view of the above, a variety of published articles, European and international research reports and other public studies have been collected and analyzed with respect to specific road infrastructure characteristics such the type of the area and location of the accident, the road geometry and roadside installations, issues of lighting and visibility, collision type and road surface condition. Analysis results indicate a significant number of factors that contribute to the increase PTW accident risk, for example accidents occurring inside urban areas, or at the vicinity of extreme road geometries such as severe bends and high gradients. Moreover, disharmonic alignment design and maintenance defects emerged as critical in the present study. The paper also addresses several interdependencies between different risk factors. Finally, the paper provides a discussion on the importance of each risk factor revealed with respect to the existing literature dedicated to the specific factor, as well as the need for further research.