Research Papers - Department of Civil Engineering

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Author: search.filters.author.Amarasingha, NSubject: search.filters.subject.Sri Lanka

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    PublicationOpen Access
    Self-reported habitual practices and perceptions of young drivers in Sri Lanka
    (Sri Lanka Society of Transport and Logistics, 2021-03) Amarasingha, N; Firdhaws, H. M. M
    Crashes on the road have become a significant socio-economic problem. Younger generations, who have lesser experience in driving, are at greater risks of facing road accidents. It is therefore important to identify driving practices and perceptions of young and inexperienced drivers at an early phase of exposure so that factors that improve safe driving can be identified. This study analysed 400 young and inexperienced drivers’ self-reported habitual practices and perceptions based on a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire focused on supervision of early driving, limitation made by parents, accident and traffic offenses by these youngsters as drivers as well as other habitual driving practices. Analyses were done using reliability statistics, inter-item correlation, likelihood ratio tests, and parameter estimates. The highest inter-item correlation value was 0.467 for the pair of overtaking vehicles in restricted areas and taking the chance to speed and run a yellow light when it is about to change to red. Driving after alcohol consumption, mobile phone usage, taking an illegal U-turn at restricted areas, non-use of signals when changing lanes and overtaking a slow driver from the left side were influenced non-use of seat-belts by young drivers. These habitual practices while driving highlighted the importance of early intervention to improve road safety. In conclusion, there is always one or more habitual driving practices that have affect the other driving habits of a young driver.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Risk Factors of Motorcycle Crashes in Sri Lanka
    (University of Moratuwa, 2016) Amarasingha, N
    The use of motorcycles has become a passion or even a way of life in many South Asian countries including Sri Lanka, for commuting to work or transporting goods, as they are easy to use and to cover short distances. In these countries, ownership and use of motorcycles and other two-wheelers are generally relatively high. Compared to drivers of other vehicles, motorcyclists are vulnerable road users as they often share the traffic space with fast-moving vehicles, they are less visible, and also they lack protection in the case of a crash. All Sri Lankan regulations for motor vehicles are applicable to motorcycles. The owners are required to register their vehicles and also obtain driving licences to operate motorcycles. They also are required to obtain annual revenue licenses. Motorcycles are popular among middle income and low income people in Sri Lanka and mainly used to commute to work and also used to transport goods, as well as for recreational purposes. The most common vehicles on Sri Lankan roads are motorcycles and the number of motorcycles is more than three times the number of the second most popular vehicle, namely the three-wheeler. The percentage of increase of registered motorcycles in Sri Lanka from year 2003 to 2012, was 152% [1]. As the number of motorcycles increase, so does the probability of their being involved in motor vehicle crashes.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Characteristics of Railway-Roadway Level Crossings at Coastal Railway Line in Sri Lanka
    (KDU IRC 2017, 2017) Amarasingha, N; Gunathilaka, O. H. D. C; Ragulan, K; Aravinda, M. P. N; Fernando, W. S. H. R
    Rail transportation is a safe, efficient, continuously operating sustainable transportation mode, in all-weather conditions, and light conditions. Along with these advantages, the role of rail transport has become increasingly important. Therefore, it is important to investigate the characteristics of the railway-roadway level crossings in Sri Lanka. Railway-roadway level crossings at coastal railway line from Aluthgama to Ambalangoda were visited to collect the roadway, railway, traffic, environmental, and crash data. Out of 51 crossings that observed in this study, about 94.1% of railway-roadway level crossings were facilitated with active safety measures. About 7.0% of railway-roadway level crossings were without gates and among them 33.3% of crossings were facilitated with passive safety measures and other crossings were under unsafe conditions. Several problems related to railway-roadway level crossing were identified. The collected data could be utilized to develop various statistical models for identifying relationships between the number of crashes and level crossing characteristics. It could be used to identify potential highcrash prone railway-roadway crossings and key factors which increase the number of crashes.