Notable increases in motorcycling have been reported worldwide in recent decadesand the shifting demographics of riders present considerable challenges to reducing motorcyclecrashes. Motorcycle safety involves many aspects of vehicle and equipment design as well asoperator skill and training that are exclusive to motorcycle riding. Yet little research has beenconducted to examine the usability of motorcycle controls. In this study, 12 participants withno experience or practice with the controls completed a series of tasks, such as changing radiostations and turning on the CB radio, using a head unit and handlebar controls while sitting on a2009 Road Glide Harley-Davidson motorcycle. For each task, time to complete the task andnumber of attempts to complete the task were recorded. The System Usability Scale (SUS) wasused to assess the overall usability of the head unit (the central control and display forinfotainment functions) and the left and right handlebar controls. The participants' performancesuggests that executing the tasks was not intuitive to users, as most were unable to completetasks on the first attempt or within a reasonable amount of time for safe driving, based onNational Highway and Traffic Safety Administration's 2012 guidelines for in-vehicletechnologies. A better understanding of the usability of technologies on motorcycles could leadto increased safety for riders and other road users as well as provide information for motorcycleproduct development.
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