Behind the Two-Wheeled Vehicle: Understanding Riders' Behaviour in School Zones (S/O: 13058)

• Main Authors: Abdul Hanan, Suhaila, Zainuddin, Nizamuddin, King, Mark, Lewis, Ioni
• Format: Monograph
• Language: English
• Published: UUM 2016
• Subjects: HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
• Online Access: https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/31760/1/13058.pdf; https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/31760/

Violation of speed limit contributes to the incidence and severity of road crashes. In relation to school zones, in spite all of the countermeasures that have been implemented in Malaysia (e.g., speed limit signage and school zones road marking), studies show that many road user either car drivers or motorcycle riders (i.e., after this session will be address as motorcyclists) do not comply with the school zones speed limit (SZSL). In addition, there has been little investigation of motorcyclists behaviour in relation school zones, specifically, factors influence motorcyclist’s compliance behaviour in school zones. The current research attempted to address this gap, employing the Theory Planned Behaviour (TPB) to examine the contribution of individual beliefs and situational factors to compliance with the SZSL in Malaysia. In addition to the standard TPB variables (i.e., attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control), the research included two additional variables of habit and personal norm and measures the effect of the situational factors of presence and absence of school children and other drivers’ speeding in school zones. Quantitative methods were utilised in two studies. Each of the studies was informed by, and built upon, the preceding study. Study 1 was a belief study, conducted to identify critical beliefs relating to compliance with school zones speed limit (SZSL). It was reported in a refereed conference paper. This study found that motorcyclists would comply with SZSL if they belief that general public or the community want them to comply, they could avoid carsh with school children and if there is many motorcyclists in that area. This study also revealed the important role of situational factors (i.e., presence of many motorcyclists). In particular, the visible presence of many motorcyclists may increase riders awareness that they are approaching or driving through a school zone thus make it easier for them to comply with the SZSL. For Study 2, the scenario-based study, approximately 635 motorcyclists completed the survey. The results showed that the motorcyclists intention to complay with the SZSL will be based on the scenario or situation occur during that particular time. For instance, when there is a lot of road user around the school zones (i.e., car drivers and school children), none of the variables (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, habit nor personal norm) significantly influence the motorcyclists intention to comply. This most probably because school zones are congested with traffic, thus, the motorcyclists may ride safely and comply with the SZSL regardless the other things. Overall, the findings provide support for the application of the TPB to understand motorcyclists intention and behaviour in school zones. The current research show the important of motorcyclists belief that may lead to the intention and behaviour of compliance in school zones. The current research also revealed that situation on the road during that particular time greatly influence people intention and behaviour. In other words, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control or other variables may not necessarily be associated with greater intention which lead to compliance behaviour. It is the situation that matters most. The current research has theoretical and practical implications: (i) it provides support for the inclusion of habit and personal norm in an extended TPB model to aid the understanding of motorcyclists behaviour; and (ii) it suggests the need to increase the visibility of school zones with the use of more noticeable traffic control devices such as flashing lights, speed humps and pavement treatment to increase the visibility of school zones, thus strengthening motorcyclists awareness they are approaching a school zone