Motorcyclists' attitudes and risk awareness
In the EU project 2BeSafe, a sub-study called CRITIC (Common RIsk awareness measurement meThod for Inter-population Comparisons) examines motorcycle riders' attitudes, risk awareness and experiences of different traffic situations. The purpose of the study is to study the attitudes of two different groups of motorcycle riders in six different countries in Europe and compare them. LTU participates as a sub-partner together with six other European partners.
Risk awareness is defined as a subjective assessment by the motorcyclist of the severity of the situation when he or she is exposed to a hazard (conflict). The present study focuses on two cognitive abilities: risk perception and assessment of the severity of the situation.
The project involves six countries: Austria (Factum), France (INRETS), Germany (TUD), Greece (NTUA & CIEC), Portugal (TUL), England (UNOTT), Australia (MUARC) and Sweden (Luleå University of Technology in collaboration with VTT, Finland). A total of 116 subjects participated in the study, 55 commuters and 61 sport motorcyclists.
As a simulator, a video-based tool CRITIC is used in which 22 video sequences are shown together with questions linked to each sequence about the severity of the situation, previous experience of similar situations, predictability, maneuverability, experience of and division of responsibilities in the situation. Subjects are men aged 25-50 years. In order to examine the groups' attitudes and investigate national differences, the subjects had to answer a questionnaire, called MOPROQ (MOtorcyclists PROfiling Questionnaire)
In the study conducted at Luleå University of Technology in the spring of 2010, two groups were examined, those who drive a moped where the purpose of the ride is to deliver the mail, and those who drive a sports motorcycle where the pleasure ride is the important thing. In total, 13 people are included in the study in Sweden, six sport motorcyclists and seven moped riders.
The analysis of the CRITIC experiment shows that there is no significant difference between the results from different countries, but there is a consistent difference in how commuters and sport motorcyclists perceive the seriousness of the situations. Commuters tend to underestimate the severity of situations compared to recreational riders. The analysis of the questionnaire shows that there is a difference in attitude between the two groups. Important motivating factors for commuters to ride a motorcycle are: to save time, easier parking, lower costs, and for sport bikers: enjoyment, cornering and acceleration. There is also a difference in risk-taking between the groups. Commuters drive more often in bus lanes and on roadsides, while sport motorcyclists drive more often between lanes and between traffic jams and drive faster and have a more positive attitude towards high speeds.
The developed methodology is promising and opens the door for future research on motorcyclists' and moped riders' risk awareness and accident exposure. A future interesting topic to be investigated is novice and young drivers, groups that are particularly vulnerable to road accidents. In a European context, such a study would also allow us to compare the effectiveness of the respective national regulations in terms of the type of license and associated training methods required to drive a motorcycle in each country. It may thus be possible to measure the subjects' risk awareness skills, and therefore indirectly compare the effectiveness of each national motorcycle driving training program.
LTU's part is funded by the MHF and runs 2009-2011.
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