Effects of armrest prototype on comfort among motorcyclists during prolonged riding process

Ayuni Nabilah Alias; Karmegam Karuppiah

doi:10.53730/ijhs.v6nS7.13099

Authors

Ayuni Nabilah Alias Faculty of Safety and Health, University of Cyberjaya, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Karmegam Karuppiah
megam@upm.edu.my
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Keywords:

Prototype, armrest, comfort, motorcyclists, riding process

Abstract

Introduction: Motorcycles had grown to be one of the most common ways of mobility among Malaysians. However, motorcyclist struggles with discomfort of their arm during prolonged riding as arm support feature is usually absent in common motorcycles. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to investigate the effect of implementing armrest prototype in terms of discomfort level among motorcyclist during prolonged riding process. Method: A total number of 102 respondents were seated on a motorcycle in two distinct sessions; a session on a motorcycle with armrest and the other session on a motorcycle without armrest. Each respondent was required to attend two separate experimental sessions. Each session had lasted for 2 hours. During the 2-hour session, a riding simulator system was displayed, and respondents were asked to control the handlebar of motorcycle as in real road. Respondents were required to rate their level of discomfort for each body part on the Borg’s CR-10 scale in every 15 minutes. Results: During the testing period, the experimental group’s discomfort rating was lower than that of the control group.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Karmegam, K. et al., (2013). Motorcyclist’s riding discomfort in Malaysia: Comparison of BMI, riding experience, riding duration and riding posture. Human factors and ergonomics in manufacturing & service industries, 23(4): 267-278.

McLnally, S. (2003). R3-riding strategy formulation model for risk adverse motorcyclists. In: Cotemporary Ergonomics 2003: Taylors and Francis Group, pp. 423-428.

Faezi, S. F. et al., (2011). Level of Service model for exclusive motorcycle lane. Indian Journal of Scienc and Technology. 4:4

Malaysian Road Transport Department (2015). Statistic on motorcycle registrations. Retrieved from http://www.jpj.gov.my/en/statistik-pendaftaran-motokar. [Accessed on 12nd June 2020].

Shuaeib, F.M. et al. (2002). Motorcycle helmet. Part 1: Biomechanics and computational issues. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 123(3): 406-421.

Karmegam, K. et al., (2009). A study on motorcyclist’s riding discomfort in Malaysia. Engineering e-Transaction, 4(1): 39-46.

Shahar, A. et al. (2010). Motorcyclists’ and car drivers’ responses to hazards. Transportation Research Part F, 13(4): 243-254

Walker, G. H., Stanton, N.A., & Young, M. S. (2006). The ironies of vehicle feedback in car design. Ergonomics, 49(2): 161-179.

Wahab, D. A., Manan, N. F. A., Hannan, M. A., Abdullah, S., & Hussain, A. (2008). Designing for comfort and reliability in an intelligent car seat. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 5(12): 1787-1792.

Bridger, R. S. (1995). Introduction to ergonomics. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Chee, T. F., (2008). Subjective and objective measurements for comfortable truck driver’s seat. Paper presented at the Proceedings of 9th International Symposium on Advanced Vehicle Control (AVEC 2008). Retrieved from http://www.idemployee.id.tue.nl/g.w.m.rauterberg/publications/AVEC2008paper. pdf. [Accessed on 19th September 2020].

Kolich, M. (2008). A conceptual framework proposed to formalize the scientific investigation of automobile seat comfort. Applied Ergonomics, 39(1): 15-27.

Karmegam, K. et al., (2008). Conceptual design and prototype of an ergonomics back-leaning posture support for motorbike riders. Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 67: 599-604.

Karmegam, K. et al., (2012). Evaluation of motorcyclist’s discomfort during prolonged riding process with and without lumbar support. Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, 84(4).

Chandore, A.S. & Deshmukh T.R. (2014). Design of two-wheeler seat: A review. International Journal of Pure and Applied Research in Engineering and Technology, 2(9): 450-458.

Reed-Jones, J.G., Reed-Jones, R.J. & Trick, L.M. (2009). Comparing techniques to reduce simulator adaptation syndrome and improve naturalistic behavior during simulated driving. Proceeding of the Fifth International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training and Vehicle Design, pp. 276-283.

Adalarasu et al., (2012). EEG based neurophysiological responses to music among sleep disorder patients. International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, 3(5): 360-365.

Carvalho, D.E.D. (2008). Time varying gender and passive tissue responses to prolong driving. Msc. Thesis, University of Waterloo, Canada.

Gyi, D. E. & Porter, J. M. (1999). Musculoskeletal problems and driving in police officers. Occupational Medicine, 49(3): 153-160.

Shephard, R.J. (1998). Aging and exercise. Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine and Science.

Mehta C.R. & Tewari V.K. (2000). Seating discomfort for tractor operators – a critical review. Int J. Ind Ergonom, 25: 661-674.

Goonetilleke, R.S., & Feizhou, S. (2001). A methodology to determine the optimum seat depth. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 27(4): 207-217.

Motavalli, S. and Ahmad, F. (1993). Measurement of Seating Comfort. Comp Ind Eng, 25(1-4): 419-422.

Bishu, R.R. Hallbeck, M.S., Riley, M.W. & Stentz, T.L. (1991). Seating comfort and its relationship to spinal profile: A pilot study. Int J Ind Ergonom, 8(1):89-101.

Lusted, M., Healey, S. & Mandryk, J.A. (1994). Evaluation of the seating of qantas flight deck crew. Appl Ergon, 25(5): 275-282.

Borg, G.A.V. (1982). A category scale with ratio properties for intermodal and interindividual comparisons, in psychophysical judgment and the process of perception, eds. H.G. Geissler and P. Petzold, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin.

Falou, W.E., Duchene, J., Grabisch, M., Hewson, D., Langeron, Y., & Lino, F. (2003). Evaluation of driver discomfort during long-duration car driving. Appl. Ergon, 34: 249-255.

Koleini, N.M., Shimomura, Y., Iwanaga, K. & Katsuura, T. (2008). Effects of strap support in a hand-held device on the muscular activity in female workers assessed by electromyography and subjective rating. Ergonomics, 52(7): 848-859.

Lintula, M., Nevala-Puranen, N. & Louhevaara, V. (2001). Effects of ergorest arm supports on muscle strain and wrist positions during the use of the mouse and keyboard in work with visual display units: A work site intervention. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 7(1): 103-116.

Rempel, P. et al., (2011). The effect of two alternative arm supports on shoulder and upper back muscle loading during pipetting. IOS Press, Work, 39: 195-200.

Bergqvist, U. et al., (1995). Musculoskeletal disorders among visual display terminal workers: Individual, ergonomic, and work organizational factors. Ergonomics, 38(4):763-76.

Kilbom, S. et al., (1996). Musculoskeletal disorders: Work-related risks factors and prevention. Int J Occup Environ Health, 2: 239-246.

Grandjean, E., (1987). Ergonomics in computerized offices. London: Taylor and Francis.

Hunting, W. et al., (1981). Postural and visual loads at VDT workplaces I. Constrained postures. Ergonomics, 24: 917-931.

Arndt, R., (1983). Working posture and musculoskeletal problems of video display terminal operators- review and reappraisal. American industrial hygiene association journal, 44(6): 437-446.

Seitz, T., Balculat, J., & Bubb, H. (2000). Anthropometry and measurement of posture and motion. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 25(4): 447-453.

Sengupta, A.K., & Das, B. (1997). Human: An autocad based three dimensional anthropometric human model for workstation design. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 19(5): 345-352.

Barone, S., & Curcio, A. (2004). A computer-aided design-based system for posture analyses of motorcycles. Journal of Engineering Design, 15: 581-595.

Horberry, T., Hutchins, R. & Tong, R. (2008). Road safety research report no. 78. motorcycle rider fatigue: A review. Department for Transport: London.

Haworth, N. & Rowden, P. (2006). Investigation of fatigue-related motorcycle crashes – literature review. reports to vicroads. Queensland: The Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety.