Objective: This study investigates traffic safety perceptions of motorcyclists and car drivers toward risky bus driving behaviors (RBDBs) in mixed traffic flow (MTF).
Methods: The study identified 10 RBDBs and employed images in a unique questionnaire survey. Further, permutation tests were employed to compare perceptions of motorcyclists in scenarios involving bus-motorcycle-car flow and bus-motorcycle flow and to compare their perceptions to those of car drivers'. Moreover, heteroskedastic generalized ordered logit regression models were utilized to predict traffic safety perceptions of motorcyclists and car drivers toward RBDBs.
Results: High-speed bus driving is perceived as the most dangerous situation, while continuous flashing of lights at vehicles in front is perceived as the least dangerous. The permutation test revealed that motorcyclists tend to perceive RBDBs as less dangerous in bus-motorcycle flow than in mixed flow with cars, while car drivers consider them safer than motorcyclists. The regression model revealed that among the RBDBs, bus moving at high speeds, abruptly overtaking, abruptly changing lanes, and suddenly pulling over at bus stops are perceived as the most dangerous by motorcyclists and car drivers. The study also discusses the relationships between the socio-demographic characteristics of motorcyclists/car drivers and their safety perception toward RBDBs.
Conclusions: These findings could inform the development of interventions to reduce RBDBs and improve traffic safety for motorcyclists and car drivers.
Keywords: Risky bus driving behaviors; car driver’s perception; mixed traffic flow; motorcyclists’ perception; traffic safety.