title: Understanding the factors influencing safe and unsafe motorcycle rider intentions.
abstract: The increasing popularity of motorcycles in Australia is a significant concern as motorcycle riders represent 15% of all road fatalities and an even greater proportion of serious injuries. This study assessed the psychosocial factors influencing motorcycle riders' intentions to perform both safe and risky riding behaviours. Using an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB), motorcycle riders (n=229) from Queensland, Australia were surveyed to assess their riding attitudes, subjective norm (general and specific), perceived behavioural control (PBC), group norm, self-identity, sensation seeking, and aggression, as well as their intentions, in relation to three safe (e.g., handle my motorcycle skilfully) and three risky (e.g., bend road rules to get through traffic) riding behaviours. Although there was variability in the predictors of intention across the behaviours, results revealed that safer rider intentions were most consistently predicted by PBC, while riskier intentions were predicted by attitudes and sensation seeking. The TPB was able to explain a greater proportion of the variance for intentions to perform risky behaviours. Overall, this study has provided insight into the complexity of factors contributing to rider intentions and suggests that different practical strategies need to be adopted to facilitate safer and reduce risky rider decisions.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety-Queensland (CARRS-Q)-School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, 130 Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia. d.tunnicliff@cqu.edu.au
authors.forename: Deborah J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Tunnicliff
authors.forename: Barry C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Katherine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Melissa K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Hyde
authors.forename: Cynthia C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Schonfeld
authors.forename: Darren E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Wishart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009049:Motorcycles; D010551:Personality; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011793:Queensland; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012449:Safety; D012933:Social Identification; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires