Motorcyclists' Attitudes on Using High-Visibility Gear to Improve
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Motorcyclists’ Attitudes on Using High-Visibility Gear To Improve Conspicuity A Study Conducted Under NCREP — The National Cooperative Research and Evaluation Program Findings From A Focus Group Study DISCLAIMER This publication is distributed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in the interest of information exchange. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of Transportation or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. If trade names, manufacturers’ names, or specific products are mentioned, it is because they are considered essential to the object of the publication and should not be construed as an endorsement. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Suggested APA Format Citation: Jenness, J., Yahoodik, S., Benedick, A., & De Leonardis, D. (2019, May). Motorcyclists’ attitudes on using high-visibility gear to improve conspicuity: Findings from a focus group study (Report No. DOT HS 812 704). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. DOT HS 812 704 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Motorcyclists’ Attitudes on Using High-Visibility Gear to Improve May 2019 Conspicuity: Findings From a Focus Group Study 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report No. Jenness, J., Yahoodik, S., Benedick, A., & De Leonardis, D. 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Westat, Inc. 11. Contract or Grant No. 1600 Research Boulevard DTNH22-11-D00222L/0005 Rockville, MD 20850 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Final Report, 9/26/2016 – 6/25/2018 Office of Behavioral Safety Research 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 15. Supplementary Notes Kathryn Wochinger served as NHTSA’s task manager for this project. 16. Abstract In its Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act, Congress directed NHTSA to establish a cooperative program — the National Cooperative Research and Evaluation Program (NCREP) — to conduct research and evaluations of State highway safety countermeasures. NCREP was continued in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. This program is administered by NHTSA and managed jointly by NHTSA and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). Each year, the States (through GHSA) identify potential highway safety research or evaluation topics they believe are important for informing State policy, planning, and programmatic activities. One such topic identified by GHSA, the reasons why motorcyclists use or do not use high-visibility gear, formed the basis for this project. Prior research on multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes suggests that difficulty detecting motorcycles is a relevant factor. A potential countermeasure to this phenomenon is for a motorcycle rider to wear high- visibility gear, especially at night or in low-light conditions. Yet, many riders do not wear high-visibility gear. This report describes a study that explored why riders choose, or do not choose, to wear high-visibility gear. Eighteen focus groups of 137 riders in Rockville, Maryland; Los Angeles, California; Austin, Texas; and Ann Arbor, Michigan, discussed their attitudes, beliefs and preferences regarding high-visibility gear. As much as possible, the groups consisted of riders of the same gender and who ride the same motorcycle type (cruiser, touring motorcycle, or sport motorcycle). Findings revealed that a minority of participants regularly wear high-visibility gear, and most of these cited a history of being in a crash or knowing others who had been in crashes with other vehicles as the reason for using high-visibility gear. Primary reasons for not wearing high-visibility apparel were objections to its appearance and the belief that it does not fit with their riding culture. Participants indicated that, to increase its acceptance among motorcyclists, the comfort and look of high-visibility gear must improve. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement motorcycle, motorcyclist, conspicuity, high-visibility, Document is available to the public through the National scooter, sport motorcycle, touring motorcycle, cruiser Technical Information Service, www.ntis.gov 19. Security Classification (of this report) 20. Security Classification (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 81 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized i TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 1 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 5 2.1 Study Objectives ............................................................................................................. 6 2.2 Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 6 3 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Study Design ................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Study Locations .............................................................................................................. 9 3.3 Recruitment and Screening ............................................................................................. 9 3.4 Conducting the Groups ................................................................................................. 10 3.5 Data Reduction and Analysis ........................................................................................ 12 4 Results .................................................................................................................................. 13 4.1 Characteristics of Participants ....................................................................................... 13 4.2 Results from the Questionnaires and Discussions by Focus Group Rider Type .......... 14 Cruiser Riders: Men .................................................................................................. 14 Sport Motorcycle Riders: Men .................................................................................. 20 Touring Motorcycle Riders: Men ............................................................................. 26 Scooter Riders: Men and Women ............................................................................. 31 All Motorcycle Types: Women ................................................................................ 35 Mixed Motorcycle Types: Passengers ...................................................................... 40 4.3 Addressing the Research Questions .............................................................................. 43 4.4 Differences AMONG Locations ................................................................................... 47 5 Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 49 6 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 50 7 References ............................................................................................................................ 51 Appendix A: Moderator’s Guide ................................................................................................. A-1 Appendix B: Results on Typical Riding Gear (Form A) ............................................................. B-1 Appendix C: Results on Factors in Choosing Gear (Form B) ..................................................... C-1 Appendix D: Results on Factors in Purchasing Gear (Form C) .................................................. D-1 Appendix E: Typical Riding Gear (Form A) ............................................................................... E-1 Appendix F: Factors in Choosing Gear (Form B) ........................................................................ F-1 Appendix G: Factors in Purchasing Gear (Form C) ........................................................................ 1 ii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Focus group locations and types ....................................................................................... 9 Table 2. Age distribution of participants by motorcycle rider type .............................................. 13 Table 3. Average number of years riding motorcycles by motorcycle rider type ........................ 13 Table 4. Number of riding days per week by motorcycle rider type ............................................ 14 Table 5. Ranking of factors in purchasing new motorcycle gear ................................................. 44 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Motorcycle types included in the study ........................................................................... 8 Figure 2. High-visibility gear examples presented to participants ............................................... 11 iii 1 EXECUTIVE