Assessing the impacts of climate change on the physiology and safety of motorcyclists in Taiwan

In developing countries, the motorcycle is an essential vehicle in urban mobility, and its widespread use provides many with a means of social inclusion. Given its low acquisition and maintenance costs, and its speed and manoeuvrability, its increased use is also associated with the rise in demand for fast delivery. However, increasing urban traffic congestion and related crash risk greatly impact motorcyclists.

In particular, for delivery riders, having to operate their motorcycle in urban areas, in which high concentrations of air pollutants, loud noise and high heat may considerably affect their cognitive performance, fatigue level and nighttime sleep cycle. Such effects are further compounded by seasonal variations and long-term climate change in temperature and rainfall, e.g. periods of extreme heat.

In other words, traffic factors such as long-term air pollution, noise levels, as well as long-term changes in temperature changes (heat exposure), are potential risk factors that are associated with a motorcyclist's fatigue or inadequate sleep and possibly cause aberrantriding behaviours (ADBs), e.g. excessive speeding, sharp steering, and hard braking or acceleration. Such behaviours can ultimately result in traffic accidents leading to considerable economic losses and even a loss of life.

However, whilst there is a recognition of such relationships, their exact nature remains unclear and requires further investigation, prior to any mitigation measures. This project, therefore, aims to explore the associations between pathological signal alterations, aberrant riding behaviours and exposure to noise,air pollution, as well as heat.

This unique project therefore combines medicine, pollution and heat effects and their impacts on the safety of the travelling public, and assesses how long term climate changes will affect this. And it does so using the latest in wearable sensors in an operational field.