A Study of the Behavior and Influencing Factors of E-Bikes Occupying Vehicle Lanes in County-Level Cities of China

Illegal use of vehicle lanes by e-bikes is common in county-level cities of China. To explore the characteristics and internal reasons of this behavior, the driving behavior data of e-bike drivers has been collected on seven typical road sections in Rong County, Zigong City, Sichuan Province, by using synchronous video recording. Using a binary logistic regression model, this paper studied the influencing factors of illegal occupation of vehicle lanes by e-bikes, including gender, whether umbrella devices installed, whether there were passengers, weekday or weekend, time of day, weather, types of isolation area, whether close to the cross, and whether couriers were involved. The study shows that the incidence of illegal road occupying behavior of electric bicycles in Rong County was 47.0%. E-bikes equipped with umbrellas are more likely to occupy vehicle lanes illegally. Illegal occupation rate in rush hours is higher than normal hours, and couriers are more likely to occupy vehicle lanes illegally. The study also shows that the probability of illegal use of vehicle lanes on weekdays is higher. Illegal behavior is more likely to happen on sunny and cloudy days than rainy days. Male drivers are more likely to illegally occupy vehicle lanes than female drivers. Our research results will help develop measures for more effective e-bike management in county-level cities, thus maintaining better traffic order and reducing e-bike related accidents. Road traffic safety in county-level cities can be improved accordingly.