Cell Phone Related Violations and Motorcycle Accidents: A Bayesian Approach

Abstract

The effects of cell phone use on motorcycle riders’ behaviour are studied in smart city, Bhubaneswar, capital of state odisha, India. Most of motorcycle riders confess using cell phone devices while driving. Moreover, relationship between near miss and accidents has been found with the use of cell phone, reflecting a risk factor for motorcycle riders.“ This study examines the relationship between such type of behaviours, comprising calling and manipulating the screen, and the frequency of near miss and actual accidents among motorcycle riders. We conducted a web based survey measuring cell phone-specific violations, human errors, near miss and accident to motorcycle riders (N=289; age range; 18-60). We hypothesized that the relationship between cell phone use and near miss would be explained by an increase in the number of human errors committed, thus increasing the likelihood of being involved in near miss. Moreover, we hypothesized that near miss will predict actual accidents. Outcomes of path analysis showed that cell phone-specific violations predicted accidents throughout their consecutive effects on human errors and near miss only in the subsample of men. These findings offer an explanation of how cell phone use contributes to increase the likelihood of getting involved in near miss and actual accidents. The current study builds a path model explaining how cell phone-specific violations lead to more near miss among motorcycle riders.