The development of risky attitudes from pre-driving to fully-qualified driving

Why are newly qualified motorists at high crash risk? Modelling driving behaviours across the first six months of driving

OBJECTIVE

Novice driver crash risk diminishes steeply over the first few months of driving. We explore the characteristics of driving over this period to identify behaviours that might underlie this change in risk.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 1456 UK drivers aged 17-21 within six months of gaining their licence. We examined how various forms of driving exposure, such as weekly mileage and driving at night, were related to duration of licencing. We explored the factor structure of the Early Driving Development Questionnaire (EDD-Q); a new instrument designed to measure safety relevant attitudes and behaviours in recently qualified drivers. We examined the relationship of the derived factors to licence duration.

RESULTS

There was little evidence that greater exposure to risky driving situations was more common in those with shorter licence durations. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses identified EDD-Q factors measuring risky style (12 items), skill deficiencies (8 items) and driving confidence (4 items). Licence duration was positively correlated with both risky style and confidence, with these relationships stronger for older novices. Licence duration was also negatively related to skill deficiencies (i.e., positively correlated with perceived driving skill development): this relationship was stronger in younger novices.

CONCLUSIONS

The negative correlation between license duration and skill deficiencies is consistent with the observation of decreasing novice crash involvement as experience is gained. The EDD-Q offers a new brief measure of aberrant driving that is specifically tailored for newly qualified drivers.

Driving Fine and its Relationship with Dangerous Driving Behaviour Among Heavy Vehicle Drivers

Context

There is a significant difference between actual and existing statistics of traffic fines; since some invisible fines and most of the visible traffic violations cannot be recorded by traffic officers. Therefore, dealing with driving fines and road fatalities is considered an important issue in social and public management worldwide.

Aims

Explore the factors associated with unsafe behaviors and getting traffic fines among a sample of Iranian heavy-vehicle professional drivers.

Settings and Design

The present cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran, from February 2019 to September 2020.

Methods and Material

This study used the driver behavior questionnaire (DBQ), demographic and driving characteristics, the number of fines, and structural equation modeling. Also, in this study 320 professional drivers participated.

Statistical Analysis Used

This article used structural equation modeling for Statistical analysis.

Results

The results of structural equation modeling analysis indicated that the data fit well with the theoretical model proposed in this study. The number of fines was directly predicted by both demographic and driving characteristics and risky driving behaviors. A significant relationship was observed between, driving hours, driving experience, and smoking, respectively, with a mistake, slip, and risky violation. There was a negative correlation between education and all four sub-scales of risky driving behaviors.

Conclusions

In order to reduce traffic fines, training courses on increasing attention and precision in drivers' observations and judgments are useful. The courses can decrease traffic violations by trying to change beliefs, attitudes, and social norms. It is therefore helpful to understand the ways to change the drivers' attitudes.

A study of the factors affecting driving risk perception using the Bivariate Ordered Probit model

This paper aims to examine the key factors influencing driving risk perception in Iran. We conducted separate surveys for two groups of Iranian drivers, namely passenger car drivers and truck drivers. In order to assess driving risk perception, respondents were asked what they think about their Probability of Having a Road Accident (PHRA) and if they eventually have an accident as a driver, what they think about the Probability of it being Fatal or causing Severe Injury (PFSI). A Bivariate Ordered Probit model, which considers the possible correlation between PHRA and PFSI, was developed to explain the observed driving risk perception using type of vehicle, driving experience, socio-demographic information, and driving behaviour. According to the results, vehicle type, vehicle age, driving experience, sleep quality, at-fault accidents over the past three years, vehicles safety-related equipment, and education level have significant effects on driving risk perception (p-value < 0.05). In addition, this paper compares the driving risk perception of truck and passenger car drivers. The results show that truck drivers have a higher perception of PHRA and PFSI compared with passenger car drivers (p-value < 0.05). The results may convince policy-makers to consider the characteristics of the two categories of drivers when designing regulations.

Longitudinal associations between internalizing symptoms and driving avoidance in newly licensed adolescents

BACKGROUND

Extensive literature assesses risky adolescent driving, but nothing examines what makes teens avoid driving. Many assume teenagers are eager to drive, but evidence suggests internalizing symptoms lead some to avoid driving.

AIMS

This study tested whether depressive and anxious symptomology predicted longitudinal driving avoidance in novice teen drivers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

N = 56 16-year-olds (52% female; 48% Black/African American) completed three observations over 6 months. At Time 1, participants reported depressive (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression 10-item Scale) and anxious (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale) symptomologies, and driving avoidance (Driving Habits Questionnaire [DHQ]), repeating DHQ at Times 2 and 3. Multiple linear regression tested whether symptomologies predicted avoidance at licensure. Linear mixed models tested associations between symptomologies and avoidance over time.

RESULTS

High anxiety predicted greater avoidance at baseline and over 6 months. Depressive symptoms did not predict avoidance.

DISCUSSION

Findings warrant an assessment of anxious adolescents' barriers to driving and avoidance impacts on crash risk.

Changes in beliefs during driver training and their association with risky driving

OBJECTIVE

Researchers continue to seek reasons for novice drivers' over-representation in crashes. Evidence on how early interventions might mitigate this global phenomenon remains inconclusive. This study explores changes in novice drivers' beliefs during pre-licensure training and within their first one-year independent provisional license period, and how these changes might help to predict subsequent risky driving.

METHOD

A sample of novice drivers (N = 175) from Lithuania participated in a three-wave longitudinal study. They completed questionnaires when beginning driver training (T1), at the end of their training (T2), and after one year of independent driving (T3). The Attitudes towards Risky Driving Questionnaire, the Adelaide Driving Self Efficacy Scale, the Driving Cognitions Questionnaire, the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, and the Social Desirability Scale were used.

RESULTS

Reported driving self-efficacy increased and fear of driving decreased from the beginning to the end of driver training and after one-year follow-up in both men and women. Road safety attitudes changed in the risk-unfavourable direction from T1 to T2. However, at T3 these attitudes returned to the initial level for men. Female novice drivers reported the same level of safety attitudes at T2 and T3. Risky attitudes, driving self-efficacy, and fear of driving predicted reported driving errors and violations.

CONCLUSIONS

Reported psychological changes occurred during the driver training period and in the first year of independent driving. It is recommended that special attention should be paid to a group of novices who experienced safety compromising changes in attitudes, driving self-efficacy, and fear of driving during training and in the first year of their driving career.

Demographic, driving experience, and psychosocial predictors of adolescent distracted driving beliefs

PURPOSE

The current study had three aims: 1) describe distracted driving beliefs among adolescents by various distraction types (i.e., talking on a hands-free/hands-held cell phone, texting or emailing, taking "selfies," and updating/checking social media); 2) examine the factor structure of distracted driving beliefs; and 3) test whether individual difference factors, shown in prior work to be related to distracted driving behavior, significantly predicted factors of distracted driving beliefs.

METHODS

Three hundred seventy-nine high school students enrolled in non-mandatory Driver's Education courses completed surveys of distracted driving beliefs, sensation seeking, and demographics.

RESULTS

A factor analysis revealed four factors of distracted driving beliefs: 1) self-acceptance of interacting with a cell phone while driving; 2) perceived peer acceptance of interacting with a cell phone while driving; 3) perceived threat of distracted driving to personal safety; and 4) self- and peer- acceptance of talking on a cell phone while driving. Adolescents perceived a greater threat to safety and less self- and peer-acceptance of interacting with cell phones while driving (i.e., texting/emailing, updating/posting to social media, taking selfies) than talking on a cell phone while driving. In general, men, those with more driving experience, higher in sensation seeking, and those placing more importance on checking notifications on a phone had riskier beliefs about distracted driving.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest adolescent distracted driving beliefs are influenced by individual difference factors, providing some knowledge about the motivations for distracted driving. Future work should consider novel strategies for intervening to reduce this common yet extremely dangerous behavior among adolescents.

Why do drivers become safer over the first three months of driving? A longitudinal qualitative study

Drivers are at high crash risk when they begin independent driving, with liability decreasing steeply over the first three months. Their behavioural development, and other changes underlying improved safety are not well understood. We adopted an innovative longitudinal qualitative design, with thirteen newly qualified drivers completing a total of 36 semi-structured interviews, one, two and three months after acquiring a full UK driving license. The interviews probed high-risk factors for new drivers, as well as allowing space for generating novel road safety issues. Analysis adopted a dual deductive and inductive interpretative thematic approach, identifying three super-ordinate themes: (1) Improvements in car control skills and situation awareness; (2) A reduction in the thrill of taking risks when driving against a background of generally increasing driving speed; (3) Early concerns about their social status in the eyes of other road users during the early stages of driving, which may put pressure on them to drive faster than they felt comfortable with. The study provides important new leads towards understanding how novice driving becomes safer over the first few months of driving, including how well-studied concepts of driving skill and style may change during development of independent driving, and bringing the less rigorously studied concept of social status into focus.

The role of personality traits and driving experience in self-reported risky driving behaviors and accident risk among Chinese drivers

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of personality traits and driving experience in the prediction of risky driving behaviors and accident risk among Chinese population. A convenience sample of drivers (n=511; mean (SD) age=34.2 (8.8) years) completed a self-report questionnaire that was designed based on validated scales for measuring personality traits, risky driving behaviors and self-reported accident risk. Results from structural equation modeling analysis demonstrated that the data fit well with our theoretical model. While showing no direct effects on accident risk, personality traits had direct effects on risky driving behaviors, and yielded indirect effects on accident risk mediated by risky driving behaviors. Both driving experience and risky driving behaviors directly predicted accident risk and accounted for 15% of its variance. There was little gender difference in personality traits, risky driving behaviors and accident risk. The findings emphasized the importance of personality traits and driving experience in the understanding of risky driving behaviors and accident risk among Chinese drivers and provided new insight into the design of evidence-based driving education and accident prevention interventions.

Identifying beliefs underlying pre-drivers' intentions to take risks: An application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Novice motorists are at high crash risk during the first few months of driving. Risky behaviours such as speeding and driving while distracted are well-documented contributors to crash risk during this period. To reduce this public health burden, effective road safety interventions need to target the pre-driving period. We use the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to identify the pre-driver beliefs underlying intentions to drive over the speed limit (N=77), and while over the legal alcohol limit (N=72), talking on a hand-held mobile phone (N=77) and feeling very tired (N=68). The TPB explained between 41% and 69% of the variance in intentions to perform these behaviours. Attitudes were strong predictors of intentions for all behaviours. Subjective norms and perceived behavioural control were significant, though weaker, independent predictors of speeding and mobile phone use. Behavioural beliefs underlying these attitudes could be separated into those reflecting perceived disadvantages (e.g., speeding increases my risk of crash) and advantages (e.g., speeding gives me a thrill). Interventions that can make these beliefs safer in pre-drivers may reduce crash risk once independent driving has begun.

Novice drivers' individual trajectories of driver behavior over the first three years of driving

Identifying the changes in driving behavior that underlie the decrease in crash risk over the first few months of driving is key to efforts to reduce injury and fatality risk in novice drivers. This study represented a secondary data analysis of 1148 drivers who participated in the UK Cohort II study. The Driver Behavior Questionnaire was completed at 6 months and 1, 2 and 3 years after licensure. Linear latent growth models indicated significant increases across development in all four dimensions of aberrant driving behavior under scrutiny: aggressive violations, ordinary violations, errors and slips. Unconditional and conditional latent growth class analyses showed that the observed heterogeneity in individual trajectories was explained by the presence of multiple homogeneous groups of drivers, each exhibiting specific trajectories of aberrant driver behavior. Initial levels of aberrant driver behavior were important in identifying sub-groups of drivers. All classes showed positive slopes; there was no evidence of a group of drivers whose aberrant behavior decreased over time that might explain the decrease in crash involvement observed over this period. Male gender and younger age predicted membership of trajectories with higher levels of aberrant behavior. These findings highlight the importance of early intervention for improving road safety. We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the behavioral underpinnings of the decrease in crash involvement observed in the early months of driving.

Measuring errors and violations on the road: a bifactor modeling approach to the Driver Behavior Questionnaire

The Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) is a self-report measure of driving behavior that has been widely used over more than 20 years. Despite this wealth of evidence a number of questions remain, including understanding the correlation between its violations and errors sub-components, identifying how these components are related to crash involvement, and testing whether a DBQ based on a reduced number of items can be effective. We address these issues using a bifactor modeling approach to data drawn from the UK Cohort II longitudinal study of novice drivers. This dataset provides observations on 12,012 drivers with DBQ data collected at .5, 1, 2 and 3 years after passing their test. A bifactor model, including a general factor onto which all items loaded, and specific factors for ordinary violations, aggressive violations, slips and errors fitted the data better than correlated factors and second-order factor structures. A model based on only 12 items replicated this structure and produced factor scores that were highly correlated with the full model. The ordinary violations and general factor were significant independent predictors of crash involvement at 6 months after starting independent driving. The discussion considers the role of the general and specific factors in crash involvement.

Evaluating a novice driver and pre-driver road safety intervention

Intervention or evaluation studies represent a small proportion of traffic psychology research. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a road safety intervention by measuring attitudes toward unsafe driving behaviors and risk perception. A sample of high school students (n=133) participated in a road safety intervention program focusing on attitudes and risk perceptions of young people as novice drivers, pre-drivers, and passengers. This sample was compared with a matched sample of students who did not take the program (n=172) on their attitudes and perceived risk toward unsafe driving, both prior to the program (T1), immediately after the program (T2), and at 6-week follow-up (T3). While no changes in attitudes toward unsafe driving were found for the control group, the intervention group reported riskier attitudes toward unsafe driving behaviors from T1 to T2 and T3. No differences were found from T1 to T3 in perceived risk toward unsafe driving for either the intervention or control groups. Implications of the study include encouraging a higher rate of road safety program evaluations, leading to better understanding of the effectiveness of road safety intervention programs and how they may be designed and delivered to ensure lower engagement in unsafe driving behaviors by young drivers.

Changes in self-reported driving intentions and attitudes while learning to drive in Great Britain

Novice drivers are overrepresented in traffic collisions, especially in their first year of solo driving. It is widely accepted that some driving behaviours (such as speeding and thrill-seeking) increase risk in this group. Increasingly research is suggesting that attitudes and behavioural intentions held in the pre-driver and learning stage are important in determining later driver behaviour in solo driving. In this study we examine changes in several self-reported attitudes and behavioural intentions across the learning stage in a sample of learner drivers in Great Britain. A sample of 204 learner drivers completed a self-report questionnaire near the beginning of their learning, and then again shortly after they passed their practical driving test. Results showed that self-reported intentions regarding speed choice, perceptions regarding skill level, and intentions regarding thrill-seeking (through driving) became less safe over this time period, while self-reported intentions regarding following distance and overtaking tendency became safer. The results are discussed with reference to models of driver behaviour that focus on task difficulty; it is suggested that the manner in which behind-the-wheel experience relates to the risk measures of interest may be the key determining factor in how these change over the course of learning to drive.