Impact of COVID-19 on Safety Performance for Motorcycles: Pre-and during-Pandemic Conditions
- 1 Civil Engineering Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
- 2 Civil Engineering Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
- 3 Civil Engineering Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
- 4 Civil Engineering Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
- 5 Civil Engineering Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
Abstract
Florida has the highest number of motorcycle fatalities in the United States and contains the second largest population of registered motorcycles. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the roads, traffic, and driving behavior in the continental United States. Motorcycle crashes decreased during the COVID-19 years (2020 and 2021) while the fatality rates increased. The purpose of this study is to 1) investigate motorcycle crashes before and during the Pandemic period to understand the impacts on motorcycle safety and contributing factors to the crash severity levels; 2) develop the crash predictive model for different degrees of severity in motorcycle crashes in Florida. Florida statewide crash data were collected. T tests have been conducted to compare the contributing factors between two periods. The injury severities are significantly different among all five levels between those during normal period and the Pandemic period. A crash predictive model has been developed to determine the facts to injury severity levels for motorcycle crashes. A total of eight variables are found to significantly increase the injury severity levels for motorcycle crashes during the Pandemic period.
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