Special Issue "Perspectives on the Role of Powered Two-Wheelers in Future Road Transport"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giovanni Savino
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence (UNIFI), 50121 Firenze, Italy
Interests: road injury prevention; PTW safety; active and passive safety; rider behavior
Prof. Dr. H. Clay Gabler
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Injury Biomechanics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Interests: injury biomechanics; PTW safety; vulnerable road users; active and passive safety

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Powered two- (and in some cases three-) wheelers are light tilting vehicles for the transport of up to two (or more) riders and small goods. Originally gas-engine-thrusted, today, their fleet includes a growing proportion of electric vehicles.

There are an estimated number of 300 million PTWs at the global level. Their use spans a wide variety of connotations in a mix that changes from area to area, including predominantly as a means of road transport, consolidated commuting and working vehicles, unique transport vehicles enabling a low-cost reach for remote areas, as well as touring and leisure vehicles. 

Linked to the different applications, the technical design of PTWs covers the entire range from basic and low-cost solutions, reaching automotive cutting-edge technologies in top-end motorcycles.

PTWs have numerous potential advantages for the single user and the broader community, which relate to their potential low consumption and emission, affordable costs, and small ground occupancy. These advantages, however, have to be weighed against the downside of the high risk for the riders and the costs for society, which are due to factors that include the challenges of the vehicle control (especially of emergency maneuvering), the underdeveloped passive protection, the lack of crash compatibility with other vehicles and road infrastructure, and the limited adoption of active safety solutions even for high-end vehicles, just to mention a few.

This Special Issue offers the opportunity to address and discuss important questions among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers, on the suitability of PTWs to be part of a safer and more sustainable future mobility in different traffic contexts. The overarching and controversial question is on whether or not PTWs should be reasonably considered as an essential means of transport—and if so, under which contexts and conditions PTWs become sustainable for the society and their use may not be merely tolerated but rather promoted, together with an appropriate range of recommendations and countermeasures to foster a well-informed and safer riding practice among the population.  

Research should be related to powered two-wheelers (PTW) including motorcycles, scooters and e-bikes. Topics and research questions of the Special Issue may include the following:

  • Have PTWs been forgotten in the road safety debate?
  • What is the role of PTWs for the future?
  • Is it possible to include PTWs in the vision of the safe systems approach?
  • What is the opportunity for the use of motorcycles rather than more traditional (e.g., cars) or less traditional (e.g., electric scooters like Lime) modes of transportation?
  • Are PTWs essential in certain environments, e.g., LMIC countries or in high-density cities in HIC?
  • What are the barriers to widespread adoption of PTWs?
  • What are the limits for safety in PTWs, both in terms of active or passive safety?
  • Are there opportunities for a dramatic increase in PTW safety?
  • PTW riders wear much more personal protection equipment (helmet, armor, leg protectors, etc.) than riders of bicycles or e-bikes. Can PTWs be a safer transportation option than bicycles? Is there any difference in safety between e-bikes and PTWs at urban speeds?
  • How do users’ preferences, education or training and licensing affect PTW acceptance?

Methodologies may include, but are not limited to, epidemiological studies, economic studies, vehicle modeling, traffic modeling, new infrastructure assessment, safety benefit analysis, novel implementations of the safe system approach, human factors, surveys, rider behavior studies, naturalistic studies, riding/driving simulator studies, and field tests.

Dr. Giovanni Savino
Prof. Dr. H. Clay Gabler
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Powered two wheelers (PTWs)
  • Motorcycles
  • E-Bikes
  • Road safety
  • Personal transportation
  • Safe system
  • Active and passive safety
  • Future mobility

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Towards the Future of Sustainable Mobility: Results from a European Survey on (Electric) Powered-Two Wheelers
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7151; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137151 - 25 Jun 2021
Viewed by 437
Abstract
Personal transport is of high importance in our society and the 2020 pandemic situation has reinforced this situation. At the same time, transport contributes to local emissions, which need to be reduced in the face of climate change. Changing from vehicles with internal [...] Read more.
Personal transport is of high importance in our society and the 2020 pandemic situation has reinforced this situation. At the same time, transport contributes to local emissions, which need to be reduced in the face of climate change. Changing from vehicles with internal combustion engines to light electric vehicles could be one promising approach. Therefore, we need to understand mobility patterns and attitudes towards E-mobility to create sustainable transport solutions that will be broadly accepted. An online survey with N = 432 participants across Europe was conducted. The majority of respondents came from Germany, followed by Italy, Austria and Sweden. Generally, cars are the main vehicle for personal transport. PTWs are used for commuting as well as leisure activity. Driving experience, easier parking and lower maintenance compared to cars are major reasons to choose a PTW. No differences between younger and elderly participants were observed. E-PTWs are primarily avoided due to high costs, range anxiety and expected problems with the charging infrastructure. To support sustainable mobility, these obstacles need to be overcome. One aspect is definitely the provision of better charging infrastructure or electric vehicles with increased range. Hence, given typical trip lengths and purposes, it might seem equally important to tackle prejudices and increase the knowledge about E-mobility with all its potential benefits in the population. Full article
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