ABSTRACT
The riding of Powered Two-Wheelers (PTWs) gives rise to a higher level of risk when compared to other forms of transport. A rider’s likelihood of being involved in a killed or Seriously Injured (kSI) crash is much higher than for a driver with some of this additional risk being due to riding being more complex than driving (Mannering and grodsky1995). In the Uk and elsewhere there have been many interventions to make riding safer; for example, legislation to make the wearing of helmets compulsory. However, to understand the effect that these interventions have, it is important to understand how risk, and other relevant factors, relates to rider behaviour. There are a range of risk theories but this chapter will focus on the two theories most prevalent in the field of road safety; Risk Homeostasis Theory (Wilde 1982), which is often referred to as Risk Compensation Theory (although there are some differences in the details between these two formulations); and Task Homeostasis Theory (Fuller 2005).
