Factors influencing wrong way driving behavior of motorcycle riders in Thailand

Abstract

Wrong Way Driving (WWD) by motorcycle riders is a traffic violation that may cause crashes. It is frequently encountered in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing WWD among motorcycle riders. This study selected six sites in Khon Kaen city, Thailand, to examine motorcycle riders’ driving behavior, either WWD or law-obeying driving, such as when making a U-turn. The driving behaviors of 1,114 motorcycle riders were collected. The random parameter mixed logit model was applied to analyze the correlation between motorcycle riders’ WWD behavior and influencing variables. The results indicated that WWD influencing factors included gender, helmet wearing, time of day, motorcycle size, the presence of LED warning signs, control of U-turn median opening, and the ratio of the travel distances between the law-obeying route and the WWD route. Finally, this study proposed recommendations to reduce the occurrence of motorcycle riders’ WWD behavior.

Keywords

• Wrong way driving
• Motorcycle rider
• Traffic violation
• Mixed logit model