Relationship between risky riding behaviour and young motorcyclist crashes / Siti Zun Nurain Binti Mohd Ali

Faculty of Civil Engineering Technology

Thesis (Master of Science) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al Sultan – 2025

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Road traffic crashes continue to pose a persistent and significant challenge despite ongoing prevention efforts. Statistics by the Road Transport Department (JPJ) show that road traffic crashes are significantly increasing in Malaysia every year. Based on data from the Road Transport Department (JPJ), motorcycle-related road traffic crashes in Malaysia have shown a significant upward trend. In 2023, there were approximately 600,000 road accidents recorded, resulting in 6,443 fatalities. Notably, motorcyclists accounted for about 65% of these deaths, equating to an average of 12 motorcyclist fatalities per day. According to the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), motorcycles are more likely to crash when they are on the road compared to other vehicles. Year after year, the PDRM records young motorcycle riders as one of the major groups of road users killed in road crashes, as motorcycles have been the most popular choice of vehicle among young adults. Factors such as inexperience, lack of riding skills, and risky riding behaviours among the young motorcyclists were suspected to be related to an increase in the number of crashes. To prove that risky riding behaviours are the major factor contributing to the number of motorcycle crashes among young motorcyclists, a model that examines the relationship between the demographic profiles of young motorcyclists and their involvement in motorcycle crashes was developed. The perceptions of young motorcyclists and a list of risky riding behaviours among young motorcyclists were produced based on a questionnaire distributed via Google Form to school and university students chosen to represent a group of young motorcyclists. Then, a series of observations were conducted at selected locations to determine the risky riding behaviours among young motorcyclists. Finally, the model of the effect of demographic profile among young motorcyclists on crash involvement was modelled. Four demographic profiles to represent young motorcyclists were chosen: age, gender, riding license, and riding experience. The results show that only riding license and riding experience have been proven to have a significant positive relationship with the number of motorcycle crashes among young motorcyclists, with a p-value of less than .05 (p<.05). The combination of two demographic profiles, which are riding license and riding experience, produced a higher value of r2, which explained that those profiles contribute to 64.1% of motorcycle crashes, as described by the model gathered from this research. In conclusion, it is observed that there is a significant correlation between the number of motorcycle crashes and both secondary school and university students who do not have a riding license and have a lesser number of riding experiences which contribute more to motorcycle crashes. While secondary school students tend to break the speed limit, university students, on the other hand, tend to tailgate with other vehicles at an unsafe distance. The results of this research will be implemented by PDRM as an indicator for reducing the number of road crashes among young motorcyclists in Malaysia. This result could provide additional information on the causes of road traffic crashes that occurred among young motorcyclists in Malaysia. In addition, JPJ can use the findings of this study to better understand the human behaviours that lead to road crashes. These findings can help them review and improve road safety measures. This allows all relevant parties to work together in tackling the issue of risky riding among young motorcyclists in Malaysia.