Investigating the Relationship between Motorcyclists’ Lifestyle, Riding Behavior, and At-Fault Crashes

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.

2 School of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Motorcyclists in developing countries ride on congested urban roads to earn money and are more likely to engage in risky behaviors. They may, however, be deterred by positive motivations and values. Previous studies have indicated that lifestyle reflects human values, which makes it essential to investigate the relationship between lifestyle and riding behavior. The current study aims to investigate relationships between lifestyle factors, aberrant riding behavior, and self-reported crashes in a sample of Iranian motorcyclists. A total of 437 male motorcycle riders participated in the study. The respondents completed a lifestyle questionnaire, a motorcycle rider behavior questionnaire (MRBQ), and items related to at-fault crashes and socio-demographics. To analyze the data, first, we used Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) to analyze the questionnaire structure. A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) study was then conducted to find causal relationships between lifestyle variables, riding behavior, and at-fault crashes. Four factors emerged from the MRBQ as an outcome of EFA: traffic violations, speed violations, errors, and stunts. Results of SEM showed that motorcycle use for recreational purposes increased riders' likelihood of committing violations, errors, and stunts. As an interesting outcome, enhancing morality traits among motorcyclists (an exploratory factor considered in this study) may reduce their stunts to a significant extent. At-fault crashes are also positively associated with motorcyclists' errors, according to the model. The promotion of alternative ways of excitement-seeking may reduce aberrant riding behavior among motorcyclists. As well, implementing measures targeted towards riders with low socioeconomic status would reduce the length of time that they spend working by motorcycle and their errors, increasing safety in countries like Iran.

Keywords

Main Subjects

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AUT Journal of Civil Engineering
Volume 6, Issue 1
March 2022
Pages 133-142

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