AP-R353/10

AUSTROADS RESEARCH REPORT

Classification of Motorcycles as a
Distinct Vehicle Class

Classification of Motorcycles as a
Distinct Vehicle Class

ii

Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

First Published April 2010

Austroads Ltd. 2010

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968,
no part may be reproduced by any process without the prior written permission of Austroads.

Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

ISBN 978-1-921709-10-4

Austroads Project No. SS1419

Austroads Publication No. APR353/10

Project Manager
Arthur Bass, RTA NSW

Published by Austroads Ltd.

Level 9, Robell House
287 Elizabeth Street
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
Phone: +61 2 9264 7088
Fax: +61 2 9264 1657
Email: austroads@austroads.com.au
www.austroads.com.au

Austroads believes this publication to be correct at the time of printing and does not accept
responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of information herein. Readers should
rely on their own skill and judgement to apply information to particular issues.

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Classification of Motorcycles as a
Distinct Vehicle Class

Sydney 2010

iv

Austroads profile
Austroads purpose is to contribute to improved Australian and New Zealand transport outcomes
by:

providing expert advice to SCOT and ATC on road and road transport issues

facilitating collaboration between road agencies

promoting harmonisation, consistency and uniformity in road and related operations

undertaking strategic research on behalf of road agencies and communicating outcomes

promoting improved and consistent practice by road agencies.

Austroads membership
Austroads membership comprises the six state and two territory road transport and traffic
authorities, the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development
and Local Government, the Australian Local Government Association, and NZ Transport Agency.
Austroads is governed by a Board consisting of the chief executive officer (or an alternative senior
executive officer) of each of its eleven member organisations:

Roads and Traffic Authority New South Wales

Roads Corporation Victoria
Department of Transport and Main Roads Queensland
Main Roads Western Australia
Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure South Australia
Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources Tasmania
Department of Planning and Infrastructure Northern Territory
Department of Territory and Municipal Services Australian Capital Territory
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
Australian Local Government Association
New Zealand Transport Agency.

The success of Austroads is derived from the collaboration of member organisations and others in
the road industry. It aims to be the Australasian leader in providing high quality information, advice
and fostering research in the road sector.

Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

CONTENTS
1

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1

1.1

Austroads vehicle classification system.......................................................................... 1

1.2

Metrocount and ARX classification system..................................................................... 1

METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 2

2.1

Method and location ....................................................................................................... 2

2.2

Observation period ......................................................................................................... 2

2.3

Evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 2

DATA ANALYSIS........................................................................................................... 3

3.1

Comparison of Metrocount and Videocount observations .............................................. 3

3.2

Missed Motorcycles ........................................................................................................ 4

DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................. 7

4.1

Accuracy ......................................................................................................................... 7

4.2

Reliability ........................................................................................................................ 7

FINDINGS....................................................................................................................... 8

5.1

Accuracy ......................................................................................................................... 8

5.2

Reliability ........................................................................................................................ 8

5.3

Survey Site Variables ..................................................................................................... 8

5.4

Device Improvement....................................................................................................... 8

CONCLUSION................................................................................................................ 9

RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 10

APPENDIX A

AUSTROADS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM .................................... 11

APPENDIX B

ARX CLASSIFICATION SCHEME.................................................. 12

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

FIGURES
Figure 1 Survey Location City West Link Westbound ..................................................... 2
Figure 2(a) Video footage ..................................................................................................... 4
Figure 2(b) Metrocount data ................................................................................................. 4
Figure 3(a) Video footage ..................................................................................................... 5
Figure 3(b) Metrocount data ................................................................................................. 5
Figure 4(a) Video footage ..................................................................................................... 5
Figure 4(b) Metrocount data ................................................................................................. 6
Figure 5(a) Video footage ..................................................................................................... 6
Figure 5(b) Metrocount data ................................................................................................. 6

TABLES
Table 1 Comparison between the ATC & Video camera ...................................................... 3

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

INTRODUCTION

Austroads project SS1419 Classification of Motorcycles as a distinct vehicle class aims to test
whether Motorcycles can be identified as a separate class of vehicle based on distance between
axles.
Motorcycles are currently classified as light vehicles within the Austroads Vehicle Classification
system. As a result, it is not possible to report separately on motorcycle numbers or speeds when
reviewing traffic and safety performance on a length of road when using the Austroads vehicle
classification system. Therefore, the Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW commissioned TCS
Instruments Pty Ltd and Skyhigh Traffic Data Australia Pty Ltd to test whether motorcycles can be
identified as a separate class of vehicle.

1.1

Austroads vehicle classification system

The Austroads vehicle classification system provides vehicle classification by axle configuration.
The classification system by axle configuration specifies that vehicles be classified into 12 classes
or bins. Classes 1 and 2 are designated as Light Vehicles and the other ten classes as Heavy
Vehicles (HV). In general, the axle-based classification of the 1994 system has been found stable
over the years and is well accepted by road authorities and equipment manufacturers. The
Austroads classification system is attached to this report as Appendix A.
The Austroads classification system is defined on vehicle classification by vehicle length and
allows for overlaps between some classes. Motorcycles are currently classified as light vehicles
within the Austroads vehicle classification system. As both cars and motorcycles have a short
wheelbase and only two axles, the only possible separation between the two classes is the
distance between the two axles.

1.2

Metrocount and ARX classification system

The ARX classification system is a modification of the Austroads classification system. ARX is an
abbreviation for Aust Roads X Factor. The ARX classification system was developed by
Metrocount. The ARX system removes class 12, moves all other classes up by one, and inserts a
motorcycle class as class 1. The ARX classification system is attached to this report as Appendix
B. This system has been adopted by many Asian road authorities, based on its ability to distinguish
between motorcycles and light vehicles.
Metrocount vehicle loggers are widely used in Australia to record traffic volume, vehicle
classification and speed data. The loggers are attached to amphometer tubes placed on the road.
The Metrocount loggers are able to classify the vehicle in accordance with the Austroads
classification system. The Metrocount loggers also have the capability to classify the vehicles using
other classification systems.

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

METHODOLOGY

2.1

Method and location

Metrocount logger and ARX classification system were used for this survey. Amphometer tubes
were placed on the road in the usual manner together with a Metrocount logging device to record
vehicle classification. The survey was conducted on the City West Link (adjacent to Pretoria St),
Sydney, NSW, in the west bound direction. The site was chosen as it was known to have a high
motorcycle volume that would produce a robust sample. The two lanes of west bound traffic had
two sets of tubes and counters installed, (one per lane). A hi-mast camera was installed adjacent
to the tubes, in order to verify accuracy and reliability of amphometer measurements and
classifications.

Figure 1 Survey Location City West Link Westbound

2.2

Observation period

The surveys were carried out over a 9-day survey period from Saturday 30th May to Sunday 7th
June 2009. There were gaps in the data collection due to vandalism, which might have affected the
quality of data described as confidence interval (please refer to Section 3.1). The gaps are:
Sunday 31st May between 01:30 and 13:30
Monday 1st June between 00:00 and 11:30
Thursday 4th June between 00:00 and 15:30

2.3

Evaluation

The ARX classification scheme defines a motorcycle as a vehicle with a wheelbase of less than
1.7m between 2 axles. The motorcycle output from the Metrocount loggers was compared to the
video camera observations. This report summarises the comparison of the two data sets as well as
explaining why a difference occurred between the two data sets. This report examines the
accuracy and reliability of the Metrocount loggers to identify motorcycles as a separate class.
Accuracy was measured by comparing the total number of motorcycles (identified by the video
audit) with the total number of motorcycles identified by the amphometer classification system.
Reliability was measured by examining whether the motorcycles identified by the amphometer
classification system were in fact motorcycles.

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

DATA ANALYSIS

3.1

Comparison of Metrocount and Videocount observations

This section provides a comparison of the Metrocount logger motorcycle data output and the video
data output. Table 1 shows the comparison between the two data sets. The accuracy of the
Metrocount loggers classifying motorcycles is shown in the right side second last column. Across
the 9 days 77.5% of motorcycles were identified correctly. Of the 2493 motorcycles, 1933 were
identified by the Metrocount logger. 560 motorcycles were seen on the video but not recognised as
a motorcycle by the Metrocount logger. 42 vehicles were wrongly classified by the Metrocount
logger as a motorcycle.

Day

Date

Video
1
Count

Recorded
by ATC*
and
2
Video
d

Sat

30/05/09

187

Sun

31/05/09

Mon

Recorded
by Video
3
Only

Recorded
by ATC
4
Only

Accuracy5

Reliability6

g=d/c

h=(d-f)/d

150

37

80.2

99.3

114

93

21

81.6

97.9

1/06/09

298

214

84

11

71.8

94.9

Tue

2/06/09

298

252

46

84.6

100.0

Wed

3/06/09

305

251

54

82.3

99.2

Thu

4/05/09

262

182

80

69.5

100.0

Fri

5/06/09

458

314

144

68.6

97.1

Sat

6/06/09

320

269

51

84.1

96.7

Sun

7/06/09

251

208

43

82.9

96.1

2493

1933

560

42

77.5

97.8

9 Days

(%)

(%)

Table 1 Comparison between the ATC & Video camera

Notes:
*ATC = Automatic Traffic Counter, or (amphometer classification system).
1. Video Count = Motorcycles identified from the video survey.
2. Recorded by ATC and Video = Motorcycles identified by both the video survey and the amphometer classification
system.
3. Recorded by video only = Motorcycles identified by the video survey but not the amphometer classification system.
4. Recorded by ATC Only = Motorcycles identified by the amphometer classification system that were in fact not
motorcycles.
5. Accuracy = Number of motorcycles correctly identified by the amphometer classification system divided by the total
number of motorcycles.
6 Reliability = The reliability of the amphometer classification system is measured by how dependable the data is when the
motorcycle is identified.

At a 95% confidence level the confidence interval is 0.7 percentage points. In other words the
probability is 95% that the accuracy is between 76.8% and 78.2%.

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3.2

Missed Motorcycles

Attached to this report is the two database sets (mc auto.xls). In total 560 motorcycles were missed
by the Metrocount loggers. The pictures below have been sampled from the video survey. The
Figures 2(a) to 5(a) show the video footage of instances, where the Metrocount loggers did not
record them as motorcycles. The survey time can be seen in the top left hand corner of the picture.
The individual vehicle report for the same period of time is shown in Figures 2(b) to 5(b). In all of
the examples shown below, the motorcycle has been misclassified as a car with a trailer except for
Figure 2(b) where it was misclassified as a truck (Austroads 94 Classification 7). The Metrocount
logger classified the motorcycle and the vehicle in front as one vehicle. Therefore instead of
correctly classifying as two vehicles, the Metrocount logger classified the two vehicles as one
vehicle. As you can see from the Metrocount individual vehicle output, this was normally a truck or
a car and trailer classification.

Figure 2(a) Video footage

Figure 2(b) Metrocount data

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

Figure 3(a) Video footage

Figure 3(b) Metrocount data

Figure 4(a) Video footage

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

Figure 4(b) Metrocount data

Figure 5(a) Video footage

Figure 5(b) Metrocount data

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

DISCUSSION

The survey was not conducted at the optimal time for capturing motorcycle riders. However, the
large sample size was sufficient to calculate confidence intervals. During the survey, substantial
rain was experienced. Therefore the survey originally set down 5 days, was increased to 9 days to
increase the sample size.

4.1

Accuracy

The accuracy of the amphometer classification method is measured by how accurate it is in

identifying motorcycles in the traffic mix. During the 9-day survey 2493 motorcycles were observed.
1933 motorcycles were correctly identified by the amphometer method, being 77.5% of the total
motorcycles.
The survey site was a complex traffic environment with multi-lanes, heavy traffic volume and a
broad range of vehicle types. This type of traffic environment is a major factor in the low motorcycle
classification accuracy experienced during the survey. Nevertheless, this location is typical of
where such information is required.
If the survey was conducted at a simpler location with lower volumes and larger headways
between vehicles a more accurate identification of motorcycles could be expected.
Therefore both the classification scheme and survey instrument need to be expanded in order to
justify confidence in using the vehicle classification scheme that separates motorcycles from light
vehicles. It is understood that as the only variable measurement to separate motorcycles from light
vehicles is the axle distance, no scheme will achieve a perfect result. However, the subject survey
has concluded that the Metrocount loggers missed 22.5% of all motorcycles. This error rate is
considered too high.
The missed motorcycles were standard motorcycles. The majority of the misclassification was
caused by joining to vehicles together. For example a car and a motorcycle were joined to be
classified as a car and trailer or a truck.

4.2

Reliability

The reliability of the amphometer classification method is measured by how dependable the data is
when the motorcycle is identified. Of the 1975 motorcycles identified by the amphometer
classification method, 42 were in fact not motorcycles. Therefore 97.9% of the motorcycles
identified by the amphometer classification system were motorcycles, and 2.1% were not
motorcycles.
There was no pattern to the small 2.1% error and therefore could be attributed to random errors
experienced using amphometer tubes to classify vehicle.

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

5
5.1

FINDINGS
Accuracy

Based on the comparing Metrocount logger data and video data Metrocount loggers recorded
77.5% of the motorcycles correctly. At a 95% confidence level the confidence interval was 0.7%.
Therefore based on the sample size the accuracy level is between 76.8% and 78.2% with a 95%
level of confidence.
The accuracy level was very stable over all 9 days. The lowest accuracy level was 68.6% and the
highest was 84.1%. The most common error was the misclassifying of motorcycles because the
classification system joined the motorcycle to the vehicle ahead (or behind) of it. The
misclassification of motorcycles in the study was caused by short headways between vehicles.
Further examination of the algorithm used to classify the vehicles would establish the exact cause.

5.2

Reliability

Of the 1975 motorcycles identified by the amphometer classification method, 42 were not
motorcycles. Therefore 97.9% of the motorcycles identified by the amphometer classification
method were motorcycles, and 2.1% were not motorcycles.
Therefore based on the sample size the reliability level is between 97.2% and 98.6% with a 95%
level of confidence.

5.3

Survey Site Variables

The survey was carried out on a two lane (one direction) section of road in inner Sydney. The
vehicle volumes at this site were high and the headway between vehicles was often quite short.
The accuracy and reliability of separating motorcycles from other vehicle classifications will vary
according to the traffic volumes and the level of saturation. The speed data should not be affected
by the misclassification of the motorcycles.

5.4

Device Improvement

Based on the analysis of the survey data it is recommended that a copy of the report be presented
to Microcom (Metrocount owners and developers). As a common problem in classifying
motorcycles is the headway allowance between vehicles, a modification to the classification
algorithm may be possible.

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

CONCLUSION

Austroads project SS1419 Classification of Motorcycles as a distinct vehicle class aims to test
whether Motorcycles can be identified as a separate class of vehicle based on distance between
axles. It was found that motorcycles could be identified as a separate class of vehicle with high
level (between 97.2% and 98.6%) reliability. However, the ARX classification is unsuitable for
accurately identifying motorcycles in complex traffic circumstances.

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that the same survey be carried out across a number of different road
scenarios. These scenarios should vary by vehicle volume, lane configuration and vehicle
headway (congestion).
It is also recommended to conduct further research on other available classification systems
nationally and/or internationally for identifying motorcycles, given the limitation in the current ARX
classification system.

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

APPENDIX A

AUSTROADS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

APPENDIX B

ARX CLASSIFICATION SCHEME

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Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

Austroads 2010, Classification of Motorcycles as a Distinct Vehicle Class,

Sydney, A4, 20pp, AP-R353/10

Key Words :
Austroads classification system, motorcycle, motorcycle speeding, axle
configuration, ARX classification, vehicle length, light vehicles, Austroads Vehicle
Classification system, complex traffic circumstances, separate class of vehicle
Abstract
The Austroads classification system provides vehicle classification by axle
configuration or by vehicle length. The classification system by axle configuration
specifies that vehicles be classified into 12 classes or bins. Classes 1 and 2 are
designated as Light Vehicles and the other ten classes as Heavy Vehicles. This
system is less defined on vehicle classification by vehicle length and allows for
overlaps between some classes. Motorcycles are currently classified as light
vehicles within the Austroads Vehicle Classification system.
This research was instigated to study the feasibility to update the classification
system and based on ongoing issues with motorcycle safety such as road toll,
increasing motorcycle use, difficulty in accurately assessing and monitoring extent of
motorcycle use and speeding on key routes (including effectiveness of safety
programs).
This project aimed to test whether motorcycles can be identified as a separate class
of vehicle based on distance between axles. The study included the production of a
report based on in-depth investigations of a number of motorcycles and light vehicles
passing a section of a road in metropolitan area. The report documented examples
of the metropolitan area and included photographs from the surveillance camera as
evidence of accurate representation of two different distinct types of vehicle
(motorcycles and light vehicles).
This study revealed that motorcycles could be identified as a separate class of
vehicle with a high level of reliability. However, the classification system is
unsuitable for accurately identifying motorcycles in complex traffic circumstances.

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