Riding the Adolescence: Personality Subtypes in Young Moped Riders and Their Association With Risky Driving Attitudes and Behaviors

On the Road Safety: Gender Differences in Risk-Taking Driving Behaviors Among Seniors Aged 65 and Older

Background/Objectives: Life expectancies have increased in most countries, leading to a higher accident rate among older drivers than their younger counterparts. While numerous studies have analyzed the decline in cognitive abilities and physical limitations as contributing factors, there are other considerations. For instance, younger male drivers tend to take more risks than younger female drivers. However, there is a lack of research and evidence regarding the role of gender in risk-taking among individuals over 65. Given this gap, our current study aims to investigate the relationship between gender and risk propensity in this particular age group. The primary goal was to determine if driving experience affects the gender gap in risk attitude; Methods: We studied risk behavior in both car drivers and pedestrians. Our sample included 200 individuals (101 women), all over 65, with the same weekly driving times. After a brief demographic and anamnestic interview, they completed the Driver Road Risk Perception Scale (DRPS) and the Pedestrian Behavior Appropriateness Perception Scale (PBAS) questionnaires. They also provided information about traffic violations and road crashes; Results: Our research revealed that older male drivers continue to tend to risky behavior, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to improve risk awareness, especially among older men; Conclusions: Our findings suggest that road safety messages should specifically target male drivers as they are less likely to view responsible driving actions, such as observing speed limits, as desirable.

Simulator Driving Abilities, Executive Functions, and Adaptive Behavior Among Adolescents With Complex Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

OBJECTIVE

To examines the driving skills, executive functions, and adaptive behavior of adolescents diagnosed with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) combined with emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities (complex ADHD), compared to adolescents without ADHD.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study including 30 adolescents with complex ADHD and 33 adolescents without ADHD aged 15 to 18 years. Driving skills on a simulator, executive functions, and adaptive behavior were evaluated.

RESULTS

Adolescents without ADHD demonstrated significantly higher total scores on the driving simulator, indicating better driving performance compared to adolescents with complex ADHD. In the complex ADHD group, after controlling for different Conners Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scale-Self Report scales, driving simulator scores were partially correlated with executive functions.

CONCLUSION

These findings emphasize the unique needs of adolescents with complex ADHD. Given the significance of driving in today's society, it is crucial to consider the development of intervention programs to support this population's driving skills.

Relations between risk perception, perceptions of peers' driving, and risky driving among Cambodian adolescents

Introduction

Traffic accidents are a leading cause of death globally, with substantial economic impact particularly in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC). Adolescents are at particular risk, partly due to their tendency to engage in risky driving. However, most research designed to identify potential causes of risky adolescent driving has been conducted in Western, high-income countries, which often have substantial cultural differences from LMIC that potentially influence risky adolescent driving.

Methods

The present study, one of the first focused on this topic in Southeast Asia, cross-sectionally assessed 425 adolescent motorbike drivers in the Southeast Asian LMIC Cambodia. Adolescents' (a) beliefs about peers' driving (social norms) and (b) driving risk perception were assessed as predictors of four risky driving behaviors: aggressive driving; distracted driving; intoxicated driving; violating driving laws.

Results

Canonical correlation analysis identified a general relation between (a) beliefs about peers' driving, and (b) all four risky driving behaviors, with R2 = 0.35 indicating over one-third of the variance in risky driving was explained by perceptions of peers' driving. Risk perception was not involved in the significant canonical relation, however. Gender moderated two of the underlying relations, with females showing larger relations between perceptions of friends' driving, and distracted driving and violating driving laws.

Discussion

These findings provide useful directions for future research (e.g., assessing the accuracy of Cambodian adolescents' perceptions of peers' driving) useful for helping stakeholders tailor road safety programs (e.g., providing adolescent drivers with accurate information regarding their peers' actual driving behaviors) for adolescent motorcyclists in Cambodia and similar countries.

A Focus Group Study to Explore Risky Ridership among Young Motorcyclists in Manipal, India

Road crash injuries have emerged as a significant public health issue in many low and middle-income countries in recent years. In India, motorized two-wheelers comprise 70% of the vehicle population and are considered the most vulnerable road users. Road crash injury is common among the young-aged population leading to premature deaths. It is essential to understand risky riding behaviors to develop accurate, evidence-based risk reduction programmes that fit the target population’s characteristics and the intervention setting. The current study aims to improve the understanding of the typical characteristics of motorcycle crashes among young riders in India, primarily focusing on the prevalence and role of risky riding behaviors. Five focus group discussions with eight to ten participants in each group (N = 35) were conducted in Manipal, in the Karnataka state of Southwestern India. A thematic analysis was completed using MAXQDA software to identify, analyze, and report on themes within the data. Speeding, riding under the influence of alcohol, and the poor maintenance of motorcycles were indicated as leading causes of crashes. Furthermore, using mobile phones while riding, violations of the traffic rules, and helmet non-use were identified as other risky behaviors among young riders. Future research can be taken up in other settings for the target population. Generational awareness with the involvement of young riders, government authorities, university officials, and the Regional Transport Office can be initiated. Engaging young riders, government authorities, university officials, and the Regional Transport Office through behavioral interventions such as persuasive communication techniques, an active experimental approach (such as the use of a simulator), and regulating the licensing procedure can reduce the number of road crashes.

Mobile Phone Use "on the Road": A Self-Report Study on Young Drivers

BACKGROUND

Extensive research showed that multitasking negatively affects driving performance. Multitasking activities can range from talking and texting to listening to music; particularly among young drivers, multitasking behavior is caused mainly from mobile phone use while driving which is one of the main causes of road accidents.

OBJECTIVE

The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether some variables (e.g., Sensation-Seeking, preferences of Multitasking) could affect mobile phone use while driving in young drivers and whether any gender differences were present among the examined variables.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

The sample consists of 424 Italian students (56% males) with an age range of 18-21 years. A self-report questionnaire was specifically developed to assess variables such as: Attitude toward Multitasking, Perceived Self-efficacy in Multitasking, Accident Risk Perception, General Multitasking Habits, and Sensation Seeking.

RESULTS

Through SEM modeling, we found the attitude to multitasking while driving to be largely explained by the considered variables. Using multigroup analysis (MGSEM), the model we developed appears to be suitable for explaining the behaviors of both male and female young drivers. Furthermore, data comparison showed that females were more likely to risk perception toward multitasking, and risk perception when using a mobile phone while driving, while males obtained higher mean scores in Sensation Seeking, Perceived Self-Efficacy in Multitasking, and in Multitasking caused by mobile phone use while driving.

CONCLUSION

Our research showed how some variables may influence the inclination of some subjects to engage in multitasking while driving. Furthermore, we discussed the importance of considering these variables in the implementation of effective road safety education projects on driving multitasking.

Visual Feedback Effectiveness in Reducing Over Speeding of Moped-Riders

The use of assistance systems aimed at reducing road fatalities is spreading, especially for car drivers, but less effort has been devoted to developing and testing similar systems for powered two-wheelers (PTWs). Considering that over speeding represents one of the main causal factors in road crashes and that riders are more vulnerable than drivers, in the present study we investigated the effectiveness of an assistance system which signaled speed limit violations during a simulated moped-driving task, in optimal and poor visibility conditions. Participants performed four conditions of simulated riding: one baseline condition without Feedback, one Fog condition in which visual feedback was provided so as to indicate to the participants when a speed limit (lower than that indicated by the traffic signals) was exceeded, and two post-Feedback conditions with and without Fog, respectively, in which no feedback was delivered. Results showed that participants make fewer speeding violations when the feedback is not provided, after 1 month, and regardless of the visibility condition. Finally, the feedback has been proven effective in reducing speed violations in participants with an aggressive riding style, as measured in the baseline session.

The Susceptibles, Chancers, Pragmatists, and Fair Players: An Examination of the Sport Drug Control Model for Adolescent Athletes, Cluster Effects, and Norm Values Among Adolescent Athletes

Although there are few high-profile cases of adolescent athletes being caught doping, up to a third of young athletes may dope. In order to generate a more accurate understanding of why adolescent athletes dope, it is important to validate models that help to explain this behavior. The aims of this study were 3-fold: firstly, to test the Sport Drug Control Model for Adolescent Athletes (SDCM-AA); secondly, to generate athlete profiles that would help quantify the proportion of athletes who are at risk of doping; and thirdly, to create norm values for the Adolescent Sport Doping Inventory (ASDI), which would allow national doping organizations, sporting organizations, and clubs to benchmark the scores of their athletes for key psycho-social variables linked to doping. A total of 2208 adolescent athletes from the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States completed the ASDI. The data presented an appropriate fit to the SDCM-AA model, in which 54% of the variance in susceptibility to doping was explained in the model, and 44.8% of attitudes toward doping was accounted for. Four distinct clusters of athletes emerged: the Susceptibles (i.e., identified with the benefits of doping, were willing to cheat, and viewed little threat), the Chancers (i.e., identified with the benefits of doping, scored high on willingness to cheat, and were highly influenced by their reference group, but had an average score for threat, self-esteem, and legitimacy), the Pragmatists (i.e., did not engage with any aspects of doping, but were more susceptible than the fair players), and Fair Players (i.e., high levels of sportspersonship, unwilling to cheat, and viewed doping as a threat). The revised SDCM-AA appears a valid model that helps explain the factors associated with doping attitudes and doping susceptibility. Adolescent athletes can be classified into one of four clusters, in relation to doping. Their cluster group could influence the content of the anti-doping education they receive.

Personality Traits and Attitudes Toward Traffic Safety Predict Risky Behavior Across Young, Adult, and Older Drivers

In the last few decades, several studies have investigated the role of personality traits and attitudes toward traffic safety in predicting driving behaviors in diverse types of drivers across several countries. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies so far have investigated the possible moderating role played by age in relation to predictors of accident risk. Answering this open question would provide information about the generalizability of the model across different subpopulations and would make possible the tailoring of the interventions to specific target groups. The study involved 1,286 drivers from three different age groups (young: n = 435; adult: n = 412; old: n = 439) which completed a questionnaire measuring drivers’ personality traits (i.e., anxiety, hostility, excitement seeking, altruism, normlessness), positive attitudes toward traffic safety, risky driving behaviors (i.e., errors, lapses, and traffic violations), accident involvement and number of traffic fines issued in the last 12 months. Multi-group Variance Based Structural Equation Modeling (VB-SEM) across the three age groups showed that the hypothesized model had a good fit with the data in all the three age groups. However, some pattern of relationships between the variables varied across the three groups, for example, if considering the direct effects of personality traits on risky driving behaviors, anxiety, altruism, and normlessness predicted violations only in young and adult drivers, whereas excitement seeking was associated with lapses only in young drivers; anxiety was a positive predictor of drivers’ errors, both in adult and older drivers, whereas excitement seeking predicted errors in adult and young drivers. On the other hand, attitudes significantly and negatively predicted violations and errors in all the three age groups, whereas they significantly and negatively predicted lapses only in young and older drivers. The results of the present study provided empirical basis to develop evidence-based road safety interventions differently tailored to the specific life’s stage of the drivers.