Explaining Sex Differences in Motorcyclist Riding Behavior: An Application of Multi-Group Structural Equation Modeling

Abstract

Road accidents are caused by humans, vehicles, and road environments. Human attitudes affect behavioral changes and can lead to unsafe riding behavior. The sex of an individual is a key factor that affects their riding behavior. We aimed to use structural equation modeling (SEM) by analyzing the multi-group SEM between men and women and applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the locus of control (LC) theory. The data used in the research were collected from all over Thailand, consisting of 1516 motorcycle riders (903 men and 613 women) aged over 20 years. A self-administered questionnaire was designed for data collection of the riding behavior using the Motorcycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire (MRBQ), including traffic errors, control errors, stunt frequency, and safety equipment. We found that riding behaviors between men and women were significantly different in both theories. For men, TPB showed that the main factors that highly influenced motorcycle riding behavior (MRB) were the attitudes based on health motivation (AHM) and perceived behavior control (PC); for women, AHM produced a stronger effect than in men. However, for the subjective norms (SN) factor, we found no direct effect on MRB, but did find an indirect effect through the attitudes based on severity (ASE) in both sexes. Particularly for women, the indirect influence value of the SN factor was higher. For women, the LC showed that internal factors had more influence than external factors. The same was found for men, but the effect in women was significantly stronger. We found that sex significantly affected the MRB. Therefore, policies must be implemented that address each group specifically as their attitudes and behaviors are different.