Factors Contributing to Riding Anger Among Motorcyclists

Abstract

Anger has been shown to have a correlation to road crashes among drivers. However, riding anger among motorcyclists on the road is still less researched among scholars especially in relation to factors that cause anger the most while riding on the road. This study examines the factors that cause riding anger among motorcyclists in Malaysia with the aim of finding out the main contributing factor that scored highest among all the factors that provoked riding anger among motorcyclists. Participants in this study consisted of 352 males and 55 females who were randomly selected from the government and private sectors to complete the newly-developed Riding Anger questionnaire. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) indicates that 59 items were grouped into eight factors, namely unsafe/inappropriate actions, rude/sluggish actions, road conditions and design, police enforcers’ presence, illegal actions on the road, hazards on the road, rainy conditions and obstructions on the road. First order (FO) through pooled-data (CFA) found that all items indicated a value loading of 0.40 and none of the items were eliminated. Second order (SO) indicated that all values could be accepted and significantly fitted into this study data. Results found that the main factor contributing to riding anger was road conditions and design (0.898). The research suggests that local authorities should pay greater attention to improving poor road conditions and design such as traffic lights not functioning, manholes not being covered, confusing road signages and fixtures, and the like immediately to avoid “anger ecosystems” among road users to reduce road crashes in Malaysia.