Abstract
The present study aimed to develop customized Motorcycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire (MRBQ) to assess young (below 25 years) Indian motorcyclists’ safe riding behavior and identify MRBQ and demographic factors influencing their crash involvement. A 37-item MRBQ, relevant in Indian context, was developed from existing MRBQ literature adding two new commonly observed aberrations, namely mobile use with hands free and putting mobile inside helmet and talking while riding. Five-factor (unmindfulness, speeding, violations, road rage and helmet), 21-item MRBQ was obtained by factor analysis. It was observed that unmindfulness, rage and helmet non-use significantly influenced self-reported crash involvement. Also, riders with higher exposure, males and married people were observed to be more prone to crashes. Unmindful actions like not kee** to lane, not noticing pedestrians or vehicles at turn, not controlling speed at turn or forgetting to give appropriate indicators may result from inexperience (as riders were young) and thus needs reinforcement through periodic training highlighting possible adverse impacts of being unmindful. The need to refrain from getting involved in altercations while riding (rage), which increases psychological stress of riders (specially males), needs to be highlighted in training programs. Though helmet laws and enforcement exist in India, riders admitted of not always using helmet. Thus, design of comfortable helmet, which provides comfort to riders even in hot humid climate, season which is prevalent in India, is essential along with stricter enforcement of helmet laws for ensuring helmet use. Special safety training programs targeting young male motorcyclists need to be designed, and special focus should be given to married riders in the training program for ensuring lesser riding aberrations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
R. Dandona, G.A. Kumar, L. Dandona, Risky behavior of drivers of motorized two wheeled vehicles in India. J. Saf. Res. 37, 149–158 (2006)
A.S. Paul, Nearly half of Indian road accident deaths involve two-wheelers: overspeeding biggest killer (2022).
S. Bharti, R. Bandyopadhyaya, N.K. Raju, Estimation of willingness to pay and value of statistical life for road crash fatality reduction for motorcyclists: a case study of Patna, India. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A 103(4), 1315–1323 (2022)
W.H. Organization, Global Status Report on Road Safety (WHO, Social Determinants of Health, 2018)
H.T. Auto, Over 1.58 lakh two-wheeler road accidents occured in India in 2020: Gadkari (2022).
M.A. Elliott, C.J. Baughan, B.F. Sexton, Errors and violations in relation to motorcyclists’ crash risk. Accid. Anal. Prev. 39, 491–499 (2007)
S.A. Motevalian, M. Asadi-Lari, H. Rahimi, M. Eftekhar, Validation of a persian version of motorcycle rider behavior Questionnaire, in 55th AAAM Annual Conference—Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine (2011).
C. Sakashita, T. Senserrick, S. Lo, S. Boufous, L.D. Rome, R. Ivers, The motorcycle rider behavior Questionnaire: psychometric properties and application amongst novice riders in Australia. Transp. Res. Part F 22, 126–139 (2014)
A.N. Stephens, J. Brown, L.D. Rome, M.R. Baldock, R. Fernandes, M. Fitzharris, The relationship between Motorcycle Rider Behaviour Questionnaire scores and crashes for riders in Australia. Accident Anal. Prevent. 102, 202–212 (2017)
H. Hosseinpourfeizi, H. Sadeghi-Bazargani, K. Hassanzadeh, S. Salarilak, L. Abedi, S.B. Basirat, H.A. Abdolahi, D. Khorasani-Zavareh, The short Persian version of motorcycle riding behavior questionnaire and its interchangeability with the full version. PLoS ONE (2018).
K.S. Oluwadiya, The Motorcycle Rider Behaviour Questionnaire (MRBQ) and Commercial Motorcycle Riders in Nigeria, in Driver Behaviour and Training (Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Surrey, 2018).
B.H. Ang, W.S. Chen, J.A. Oxley, S.W.H. Lee, Reliability and validity of the English and Malay versions of the driving and riding Questionnaire: a pilot study amongst older car drivers and. Public Health 155, 8–16 (2018)
H.T. Bui, I. Saadi, M. Cools, Investigating on-road crash risk and traffic offences in Vietnam using the motorcycle rider behaviour questionnaire (MRBQ). Saf. Sci. 130, 104868 (2020)
S. Uttra, S. Jomnonkwao, D. Watthanaklang, V. Ratanavaraha, Development of self-assessment indicators for motorcycle riders in Thailand: application of the motorcycle rider behavior Questionnaire (MRBQ). Sustainability 12, 1–16 (2020)
S.S. Chouhan, A. Kathuria, C.R. Sekhar, Examining risky riding behavior in India using Motorcycle rider behavior questionnaire. Accid. Anal. Prevent. 160, 106312 (2021)
H. Ospina-Mateus, L.Q. Jiménez, F.J. López-Valdés, The rider behavior questionnaire to explore associations of motorcycle taxi crashes in Cartagena (Colombia). Traffic Injury Prevent. 23, S99–S103 (2021)
K. Hassanzadeh, S. Salarilak, H. Sadeghi-Bazargani, M. Golestani, Motorcyclist risky riding behaviors and its predictors in an Iranian population. J Injury Violence Res. 12(2), 161–170 (2020)
P. Lardelli-Claret, J.J. Jimenez-Moleon, J.D.D. Luna-del-Castillo, M. Garcıa-Martın, A. Bueno-Cavanillas, R. Galvez-Vargas, Driver dependent factors and the risk of causing a collision for two wheeled motor vehicles. Injury Prevent. 11(4), 225–231 (2005)
K. Dutta, B. Basu, D. Sen, Evaluation of postural, psychosocial stress and driver behaviour of motorbike riders in India. Occup. Ergon. 13, S25–S36 (2017)
H. Sadeghi-Bazargani, K. Hasanzadeh, S. Salarilak, S. Amiri, M. Golestani, N. Shahedifar, Evaluating the relationship between adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and riding behavior of motorcyclists. J. Injury Violence Res. 11(1), 45–52 (2019)
F. Setoodehzadeh, A. Ansari-Moghaddam, H. Okati-Aliabad, M. Khammarnia, M. Mohammadi, Self-reported Motorcycle Riding Behavior in Southeast of Iran. Health Scope 10(3), 1–10 (2021)
B.F. Sexton, C.J. Baughan, M.A. Elliott, G. Maycock, The accident risk of motorcyclists, Road Safety Division, Department for Transport (2004).
L. Yao, C. Wu, Traffic safety for electric bike riders in China: Attitudes, Risk perception, and aberrant riding behaviors. Transp. Res. Rec. J. Transp. Res. Board 2314, 49–56 (2012)
S. Jamson, C. Uzondu, D. Hibberd, Can infrastructure improvements mitigate unsafe traffic safety culture: a driving simulator study exploring cross cultural differences. Transp. Res. Part F Traff. Psychol. 73, 205–221 (2020)
K. Sumit, K. Brijs, V. Ross, G. Wets, R.A. Ruiter, A focus group study to explore risky ridership among young motorcyclists in Manipal, India. Safety 8(40), 1–27 (2022)
K. Sumit, V. Ross, K. Brijs, G. Wets, R.A. Ruiter, Risky motorcycle riding behaviour among young riders in Manipal, India. BMC Public Health 21(1954), 1–14 (2021)
N.S.B. Ahmad, K. Karuppiah, V. How, M.H.B.M. Isa, K.K.C. Mani, Risk riding behaviours of young motorcyclists among students in Univeristi Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor. Malays. J. Med. Health Sci. 18(5), 23–30 (2022)
J.T. Wong, Y.S. Chung, S.H. Huang, Determinants behind young motorcyclists’ risky riding behavior. Accid. Anal. Prev. 42, 275–281 (2010)
H. Sadeghi-Bazargani, L. Abedi, M. Mahini, S. Amiri, D. Khorasani-Zavareh, Adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, risky behaviors, and motorcycle injuries: a case-control study. Neuropsychiatr. Dis. Treat. 11, 2049–2054 (2015)
M. Jalal-Ud-Din, A word to bike riders: Resort to safety as safety saves. Greater Kashmir, 4 (2021)
Acko Team, "Bike Accidents in India and Insurance Claim. 12 April 2023. https://www.acko.com/bike-guide/bike-accidents-in-india-and-insurance-claim/
L. Hu, P.M. Bentler, Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Struct. Equ. Model. A Multidiscip. J. 6(1), 1–55 (1999)
A.M. Hezaveh, M.F. Zavareh, C.R. Cherry, T. Nordfjærn, Errors and violations in relation to bicyclists’ crash risks: development of the Bicycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire (BRBQ). J. Transp. Health 8, 289–298 (2018)
L. Steg, A.V. Brussel, Accidents, Aberrant Behaviours, and Speeding of Young Moped Riders. Transp. Res. Part F Traff. Psychol. Behav. 12(6), 503–511 (2009)
S. Koppel, A.N. Stephens, J.L. Charlton, M. Di Stefano, P. Darzins, M. Odell, S. Marshall, The driver Behaviour Questionnaire for older drivers: Do errors, violations and lapses change over time? Accid. Anal. Prev. 113, 171–178 (2018)
A.E. af Wåhlberg, P. Barraclough, J. Freeman, The driver behaviour Questionnaire as accident predictor; a methodological re-meta-analysis. J. Saf. Res. 55, 185–212 (2015)
A.I.A. Mofadal, K. Kanitpong, P. Jiwattanakul, Analysis of pedestrian accident costs in Sudan usinf Willingness-to-Pay Method. Accid. Anal. Prev. 78, 201–211 (2015)
E.M. Choueiri, E. Otayek, A. Saroufim, The economic cost of road traffic accidents in Lebanon. World Saf. J. 31(2), 47–62 (2022)
A.K. Saurav, H. Chakravarty, R. Bandyopadhyaya, Analysing Willingness to Pay and Attitude Towards Safety for Indian Motorcyclists, in Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering (Springer, 2022), pp. 143–153.
V. Bandyopadhyaya, R. Bandyopadhyaya, S. Barman, Understanding key behavioral factors affecting road traffic citation and crash involvement of professional bus and passenger van drivers using a modified driver behavior questionnaire: an Indian perspective. Int. J. Occupat. Saf. Ergonom. 29, 1–18 (2022)
T. Okinaka, The effects of prompting and reinforcement on safe behavior of bicycle and motorcycle riders. J. Appl. Behav. Anal. 44(3), 671–674 (2011)
L. Krexi, R. Georgiou, D. Krexi, M.N. Sheppard, Sudden cardiac death with stress and restraint: the association with sudden adult death syndrome, cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease. Med. Sci. Law 56(2), 85–90 (2015)
J.P. Allegrante, R.G. Mortimer, T.W. O’Rourke, Social-psychological factors in motorcycle safety helmet use: implications for public policy. J. Saf. Res. 12(3), 115–126 (1980)
D.V. Hung, M.R. Stevenson, R.Q. Ivers, Barriers to, and factors associated, with observed motorcycle helmet use in Vietnam. Accid. Anal. Prev. 40, 1627–1633 (2008)
R. Akuh, M. Donani, S. Okyere, E.K. Gyamfi, The impact of perceived safety, weather condition and convenience on motorcycle helmet use: the mediating role of traffic law enforcement and road safety education. IATSS Res. 47, 204–2013 (2023)
Funding
No funding was received for this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no competing or conflicting interest with the work/data used in this paper.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Kumar, A., Singh, S., Hussain, S. et al. Identifying Factors Causing Motorcycle Crashes Among Young Adults in India Using Modified Motorcycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A 105, 91–104 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40030-023-00776-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40030-023-00776-z