Article 6 ONLINE MOTORCYCLE SAFETY INFORMATION SEEKING AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO RISK TAKING AND PROTECTIVE BEHAVIORS TIMOTHY M. HALE Center for Connected Health, Partners HealthCare and Harvard Medical School, Research Fellow, 25 New Chardon Street 321M, Boston, MA, 02114, USA, Phone: 617-643-9852, Fax: 617-228-4624, Email: tmhale@mgh.harvard.edu (corresponding author) VIRGINIA P. SISIOPIKU University of Alabama at Birmingham, Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, 1075 13 th Street South, Hoehn 311,Birmingham, AL 35294, USA, Phone: 205-934- 9912, Fax: 205-934-9855, Email: vsisiopi@uab.edu SHELIA R. COTTEN Michigan State University, Professor, Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, 404 Wilson Road, Room 409, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA, Phone: 517-432-8002, Fax: 517-355-1292, Email: cotten@msu.edu ABSTRACT Objective: Although substantial research examines motorcycle accidents after they happen, less is known about how motorcycle riders obtain safety information and how this relates to risk taking and protective behaviors. Rather than taking a reactive approach (i.e., investigating accidents after they happen), this study takes a proactive approach by investigating riders’ reports of their behaviors in relation to motorcycle riding and related activities. The goal is to determine models predictive of risk taking and protective behaviors among motorcycle riders. Methods: A web-based survey was used to collect data from 269 participants who belong to an online motorcycle community in Alabama. The data were used to examine the relationship between use of the website for information seeking and two outcomes: frequency of risky riding behaviors and frequency of wearing protective gear. Analyses used multivariate ordinary least squares regression models, adding variables to the model in the following order: (1) use of the website for information seeking, (2) risk perception, (3) cues to action, and (4) control variables accounting for motorcycle riding experience, skills, and socio-demographic factors. Conclusions: Searching for safety information was associated with less risky riding behavior and greater use of protective gear. However, general use of the community website was associated with greater risk taking. This study advances prior work by examining predictors of risky riding behavior and wearing of protective gear, rather than reactively examining determinants of motorcycle crashes. 1. INTRODUCTION The U.S. traffic safety community is concerned about the continuing increase in motorcycle crashes, in spite of the fact that all traffic crashes are in decline. Based on Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) records maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a significant increase in the number for motorcycle fatalities took place in the 1997 to 2011 time period (Table 1). Table 1 Number of Fatalities, 1997 and 2011 Issue 2 2013