Prevalence of and intent behind motorcyclists' violations at railway crossings in Indonesia: Modeling behavior and learning lessons from a developing country

Abstract

ObjectiveIndonesia experiences a high number of motorcycle accidents at railway crossings (RLXs). The purpose of this study is to observe motorcyclists' behavior and intent to cross the railway in a dangerous or illegal way and the factors influencing these decisions. MethodTwo hundred and fifty-nine people (mean age = 24.2 years, SD = 7.2 years, 146 males, 113 females) voluntarily participated in this study by filling in an online questionnaire. This questionnaire gathered demographic data and used constructs adapted from the extended Theory of Planned Behavior, asking respondents about their behavior at RLXs when the barrier is open, when it is half closed and when it is fully closed. A five-point Likert scale was used to measure the response of the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis for demographic data, inferential statistics, and structural equation modeling (SEM) for the construct items of the model. Field observation was also conducted to measure the violation rate at RLXs at both busy and non-busy times, which were then compared. ResultThe results show that factors influencing RLX violation based on the extended Theory of Planned Behavior model are attitude, past behavior, and traffic environments. Demographic factors, occupation, RLX characteristics, and crossing frequency were related to self-reported violations and intentions to violate. Based on our observations and questionnaire, it was found that when accident risk was higher, the observed violation rate decreased significantly, as did intention to violate and previous risky crossing behavior. Conclusionviolations at railway crossings are influenced by individual and environmental factors as well as perceived risk.