Why ride powered two-wheelers?.

The popularity of motorcycling within the UK continues to grow. In this article the high rate of killed and seriously injured (KSI) accidents appears to be linked to a mismatch between rider skills and road-reading skills. Riders with less than six months' experience are more likely to be involved in an accident when compared with the rest of the riding population. These less-experienced riders are more likely to make decisions or manoeuvres that result in an accident. There is evidence that the benefits of additional training may be lost through risk compensation. To design training intervention that is effective, an examination of why people ride powered two-wheelers is required. Most motorcyclists indicate that they ride for fun. The relationship between risk, enjoyment and concentration while riding was explored in a study undertaken at the Edzell racing track in Scotland. If enjoyment were enhanced by risk, then it would be expected that there would be a positive correlation between risk and enjoyment, with respondents indicating the co-occurrence of risk and enjoyment at particular sections of the course. However very little co-occurrence between risk and enjoyment was found, with risk and concentration and enjoyment and concentration more likely to be correlated. It is suggested that enjoyment from riding comes from matching riding skills to the challenge that is presented by the roads and their environment. Risk averse riders constituted 42%, risk acceptors 48% and risk seekers 8% of the riders interviewed. It is considered that the risk strategy of individuals will affect the effectiveness of training for individual motorcyclists. For the covering abstract see ITRD E157496