Lucas
03-12-2009, 05:41 PM
I was just emailed this. It is the survey that was posted on here a few months back through Deakin Uni.
MOTORCYCLING BEHAVIOUR
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DEAKIN UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY
Summary of findings: Psychological Desire for Control, Testing the Limits, and Australian Motorcyclists research project
Investigators: Dr Lucy Zinkiewicz (lucyz@deakin.edu.au) and Catherine Hanson
Our study aimed to investigate how various motorcycle riding behaviours (speeding, stunting, control errors, traffic errors and the use or nonuse of safety equipment) were related to accident involvement and the personality characteristic of psychological desire for control. Below is a summary of some our findings.
Who completed the questionnaire?
Our online questionnaire was completed by 766 motorcycle riders, made up of 700 men, 64 women and 2 who did not specify their gender. Respondents ranged from 17 to 75 years of age, with an average age of 37.81 years, and were employed in a wide range of occupations.
Respondents came from across all states and territories in Australia, with the majority coming from NSW (28.7%), Queensland (26.3%), Victoria (17%), and Western Australia (15.7%). They mostly lived in cities of 100,000 people or more (78.1%), with 17.6% from regional areas and 4.3% from rural areas.
Our respondents rode a range of bikes, with the majority riding sport/supersport (43.5%), sport/touring (22.1%), and naked bikes (17%). Riding experience ranged from less than one year to 49 years (14.71 years on average), and annual kilometres rode ranged from 2 to 108,000 km (14,055 km on average).
So what was people’s riding behaviour like?
We found that, on average, respondents reported:
Nearly always wearing protective clothing (an average score of 5.4 out of 6),
Occasional speeding (average score 3.4 out of 6), and
Hardly ever committing:
control errors (e.g., cornering too fast or too wide) (average score 2 out of 6)
traffic errors (e.g., failing to notice pedestrians or signs) (average score 1.5 out of 6), and
stunts (e.g., wheelies and wheel spins) (average score 1.9 out of 6).
How does riding behaviour relate to crashes?
Respondents reported being involved in very few accidents over the last three years, with 62.8% of people being involved in none at all. Of those who did report being involved in an accident, 187 reported being in an active accident (where the rider hits another road user or obstacle) and 136 reported being involved in a passive accident (where the rider was hit by another road user).
As you’d expect, more risky riding behaviour was associated with involvement in crashes over the last three years. Our analysis found that control errors significantly increased the odds of a rider being involved in any accident, and in an active accident. Greater experience and higher levels of desire for control significantly reduced the odds of being involved in an active accident, while greater age reduced the odds of being involved in a passive accident.
How does psychological desire for control relate to riding behaviour and accident involvement?
Men reported a slightly higher average desire for control (5.03 out of 7) than did women (4.91 out of 7), though this difference was not statistically significant.
Desire for control was not related to safety equipment wearing. However, significantly higher levels of desire for control were found amongst riders with higher levels of speeding violations and stunting. Significantly higher levels of desire for control were also found amongst riders who reported lower levels of traffic errors and control errors. Greater desire for control also reduced the odds of being involved in an active accident, as mentioned earlier. This means that those high in desire for control made fewer riding errors. While they engaged in more speeding and stunting, they also had fewer active accidents, in which they hit another road user or obstacle.
We speculate that riders with higher desire for control are engaging in more speeding and stunting in order to test the limits of themselves and their bikes, improve their skills, and become safer riders. They then may have fewer traffic and control errors because their riskier riding has led to them becoming more skilful and safer on the roads. However, it may also be that riders with higher desire for control engage in riskier riding only in environments where traffic and control errors are unlikely to occur. Obviously, more research is needed, to better understand these findings.
In conclusion...
We would like to thank all respondents for their enthusiastic response to the survey and for taking time out to complete the questionnaire - it’s very much appreciated. We would also like to thank those who left feedback regarding the survey – the information you provided will be very useful when making revisions for future studies.
MOTORCYCLING BEHAVIOUR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEAKIN UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY
Summary of findings: Psychological Desire for Control, Testing the Limits, and Australian Motorcyclists research project
Investigators: Dr Lucy Zinkiewicz (lucyz@deakin.edu.au) and Catherine Hanson
Our study aimed to investigate how various motorcycle riding behaviours (speeding, stunting, control errors, traffic errors and the use or nonuse of safety equipment) were related to accident involvement and the personality characteristic of psychological desire for control. Below is a summary of some our findings.
Who completed the questionnaire?
Our online questionnaire was completed by 766 motorcycle riders, made up of 700 men, 64 women and 2 who did not specify their gender. Respondents ranged from 17 to 75 years of age, with an average age of 37.81 years, and were employed in a wide range of occupations.
Respondents came from across all states and territories in Australia, with the majority coming from NSW (28.7%), Queensland (26.3%), Victoria (17%), and Western Australia (15.7%). They mostly lived in cities of 100,000 people or more (78.1%), with 17.6% from regional areas and 4.3% from rural areas.
Our respondents rode a range of bikes, with the majority riding sport/supersport (43.5%), sport/touring (22.1%), and naked bikes (17%). Riding experience ranged from less than one year to 49 years (14.71 years on average), and annual kilometres rode ranged from 2 to 108,000 km (14,055 km on average).
So what was people’s riding behaviour like?
We found that, on average, respondents reported:
Nearly always wearing protective clothing (an average score of 5.4 out of 6),
Occasional speeding (average score 3.4 out of 6), and
Hardly ever committing:
control errors (e.g., cornering too fast or too wide) (average score 2 out of 6)
traffic errors (e.g., failing to notice pedestrians or signs) (average score 1.5 out of 6), and
stunts (e.g., wheelies and wheel spins) (average score 1.9 out of 6).
How does riding behaviour relate to crashes?
Respondents reported being involved in very few accidents over the last three years, with 62.8% of people being involved in none at all. Of those who did report being involved in an accident, 187 reported being in an active accident (where the rider hits another road user or obstacle) and 136 reported being involved in a passive accident (where the rider was hit by another road user).
As you’d expect, more risky riding behaviour was associated with involvement in crashes over the last three years. Our analysis found that control errors significantly increased the odds of a rider being involved in any accident, and in an active accident. Greater experience and higher levels of desire for control significantly reduced the odds of being involved in an active accident, while greater age reduced the odds of being involved in a passive accident.
How does psychological desire for control relate to riding behaviour and accident involvement?
Men reported a slightly higher average desire for control (5.03 out of 7) than did women (4.91 out of 7), though this difference was not statistically significant.
Desire for control was not related to safety equipment wearing. However, significantly higher levels of desire for control were found amongst riders with higher levels of speeding violations and stunting. Significantly higher levels of desire for control were also found amongst riders who reported lower levels of traffic errors and control errors. Greater desire for control also reduced the odds of being involved in an active accident, as mentioned earlier. This means that those high in desire for control made fewer riding errors. While they engaged in more speeding and stunting, they also had fewer active accidents, in which they hit another road user or obstacle.
We speculate that riders with higher desire for control are engaging in more speeding and stunting in order to test the limits of themselves and their bikes, improve their skills, and become safer riders. They then may have fewer traffic and control errors because their riskier riding has led to them becoming more skilful and safer on the roads. However, it may also be that riders with higher desire for control engage in riskier riding only in environments where traffic and control errors are unlikely to occur. Obviously, more research is needed, to better understand these findings.
In conclusion...
We would like to thank all respondents for their enthusiastic response to the survey and for taking time out to complete the questionnaire - it’s very much appreciated. We would also like to thank those who left feedback regarding the survey – the information you provided will be very useful when making revisions for future studies.