Passion, performance, practicality: motorcyclists’ motivations and attitudes to safety

For each statement, the riders rated the things which were important to them about riding a motorbike, scooter or moped, on a five point scale, ranging from ‘not important at all’ to ‘very important’.

Eight ‘motivational factors’ were identified from analysis of the responses to these statements, which were used as the basis for the segmentation exercise.

There were 1,019 respondents, and 999 were allocated to a seven segment solution. The seven segments were described as: Look-at-me enthusiasts; Car aspirants; Performance disciples; Car rejecters; Performance hobbyists; Riding disciples; and Riding hobbyists.

The different segments’ demographics, attitudes and perceptions of risk were highlighted. The segments were listed with respect to their accident liability scores, with Look-at-me enthusiasts having the highest accident propensity and Riding hobbyists the lowest.

A conceptual model was developed for the seven segments and the riders’ passion for motorcycling and their relationship to performance were measured. This process was used to describe and quantify their riding behaviour.

This research has concentrated on the riders’ motivations and risk perception, and self reported decisions with respect to choice of bike, helmet, safety gear and avoiding fatigue.