An application of the driver behaviour questionnaire in an Australian organisational fleet setting

This study reports on the utilisation of the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) to examine the self-reported driving behaviours of a sample of Australian fleet drivers (N = 443). Surveys were posted to participants who agreed to participate in the study. PCA factor analysis with oblique rotation identified a three factor solution which supports previous research that has demonstrated distinctions between different driving practices (e.g., errors, highway code violations and aggressive driving violations). However, a larger number of items traditionally related with highway code violations were found to be associated with aggressive driving acts among the current sample. Additional analysis revealed that the DBQ factors were negatively related with self-reported traffic offences, although at a multivariate level only the number of kilometres driven each year (i.e., exposure) proved to be predictive of incurring fines/demerit points. This paper further outlines the major findings of the study and highlights implications regarding the utilisation of the DBQ within fleet settings to examine on-road behaviour among professional drivers.     

Accident involvement among Iranian lorry drivers: Direct and indirect effects of background variables and aberrant driving behaviour

Road accident rates among Iranian lorry drivers are considerably high and, according to empirical evidence, aberrant driving behaviours, summed to certain demographic, psycho-social and work-related factors, may explain their accident involvement. Consequently, the main aim of the study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of background variables (i.e. annual mileage, lorry driving experience, demographic and socioeconomic factors) on accident involvement mediated through aberrant driving behaviour among Iranian lorry drivers. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in 2012 among 914 lorry drivers in 10 selected provinces in Iran. The 27-item Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) was used to measure aberrant driving behaviour. Results from valid observations (n = 785) confirmed a four-factor solution (including ordinary violations, aggressive violations, errors, and lapses) of the DBQ. Errors, ordinary violations and aggressive violations were positively associated with accident involvement. However, lapses were not significantly associated with accident involvement. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) further showed that, in addition to direct effects of background variables on accident involvement, several variables had indirect effects mediated by three-DBQ factors; ordinary violations, aggressive violations, and errors. Higher age, having more lorry driving experience, having higher educational attainment, and married drivers were indirectly related to less accident involvement. Annual driving mileage and the resting rate of drivers was both directly and indirectly related to accident involvement. Higher income and car ownership were directly related to fewer accidents. Interventions could aim to decrease ordinary violations, aggressive violations and errors among younger, less educated and single lorry drivers. Initiatives targeted to increase the scheduled resting frequency of lorry drivers may also hold promise.     

Can traffic violations be traced to gender-role,sensation seeking,demographics and driving exposure?

BackgroundTraffic safety is often expressed as the ‘inverse of accidents’. However, it is more than the mere absence of accidents. Past studies often looked for associations between accidents and self-reports like the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ; Reason, Manstead, Stradling, Baxter, & Campbell, 1990). The focus in this study changed from counting accidents to quantifying unsafe acts as violations. The objective was to show that drivers' specific violations can be traced to personal characteristics such as sensation seeking (SSS-V; Zuckerman, 1994), gender role (BSRI; Bem sex role inventory, Bem, 1974), demographics, and driving exposure.MethodA web-based questionnaire was distributed, integrating several known questionnaires. Five hundred and twenty-seven questionnaires were completed and analyzed.ResultsSensation seeking, gender role, experience, and age predicted respondents’ score on the DBQ, as well as the interaction of sensation seeking with gender and gender role. Gender role was a more valid predictor of driver behavior than gender.ConclusionsThe effect of gender role on drivers’ self-reported violation tendency is the most interesting and the most intriguing finding of this survey and indicates the need to further examine gender role affects in driving.     

Cross-cultural differences in driver aggression,aberrant, and positive driver behaviors

The present study investigated differences in driver aggression for self and others within countries and cultural differences between driver aggression, aberrant, and positive driver behaviors across five countries (Estonia, Greece, Kosovo, Russia, and Turkey). It was predicted that drivers from these five countries differ significantly in terms of driver aggression for self and others, aberrant, and positive driver behaviors. In the study, 743 participants completed the questionnaire package, including the Driver Aggression Indicators Scale (DAIS), the short version of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) with items from the Positive Driver Behavior Scale, and the Demographic Information Form. Paired samples T-tests were conducted to examine the differences in driving aggression between self and others in the five countries. The results indicated that, except for Russian drivers, drivers reported that other drivers had higher driver aggression than themselves. To examine the cross-cultural differences, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) tests were conducted for the two dimensions of the DAIS (hostile aggression and revenge, and aggressive warnings) and the three dimensions of the DBQ with items from the Positive Driver Behavior Scale (errors, violations, and positive driver behaviors). Cross-country item-based comparisons were then made for the DAIS and the DBQ. The ANCOVA results showed significant differences in both item-based and subscale comparisons. Russian drivers were significantly different from other drivers in terms of hostile aggression and the revenge subscales of the DAIS and positive driver behaviors. Turkish drivers were significantly different from other drivers in several items of the DBQ, including errors and violations. The findings suggest that culture-specific strategies might be conducted for traffic-related anger management. Furthermore, differences in errors and violations among the five countries may be due to cultural differences. Positive driver behaviors might be better promoted in countries by drawing on their distinct cultural road safety strategies.     

The driver behaviour questionnaire in South-East Europe countries: Bulgaria,Romania and Serbia

Using data from three samples and more than 1000 participants, this study have examined the psychometric properties of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) in three countries from South-East Europe. Differences in driving behaviour between countries were also investigated. Exploratory factor analysis results supported the distinction between errors and violations in all three countries. Furthermore, the positive associations of both errors and violations with self-reported traffic accidents were also consistent in all three samples. In terms of differences in driving behaviour, Romanian drivers scored higher on many error and violation items in comparison to the other two countries. Also, speeding violations were the most common violations in all three countries. Overall, our results provide further support for using the DBQ to measure aberrant (i.e. errors and violations) driver behaviour.     

A social psychological approach to driving violations in two Chinese cities

A questionnaire study conducted in two Chinese cities investigated the determinants of the respondents’ aberrant driving behaviours. The Chinese Driving Questionnaire (CDQ) was developed and a version of the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) containing an extended set of driving violations particularly relevant in China was also included. Factor analysis of the DBQ revealed four factors with Alpha values over .60, two of them violations and the other two lapses and errors. Factor analysis of the CDQ items also revealed four factors with Alpha values over .60, namely the sense of social hierarchy, potential road safety countermeasure, belief in interpersonal network, and challenging legitimate authority. The result of a correlation analysis of the DBQ and CDQ scales showed that while the two violation scales were significantly and positively correlated with the social hierarchy and interpersonal network scale, the two lapse and error scales basically were not. When the DBQ scales were regressed on demographic variables and CDQ scales, the results of the hierarchical regressions showed that the prediction of self-reported driving violations had been significantly improved by the addition of culture relevant factors measured in the CDQ, while there was no major change in the prediction of lapses and errors. Logistic regression analysis showed that aggressive violations made a significant contribution to traffic accident involvement, independent of the demographic variables. The present study also identified some potential road safety countermeasures, and suggested young female drivers, and drivers at their early thirties should be especially targeted in road safety campaign.     

Investigating the motivational factors influencing drivers intentions to unsafe driving behaviours: Speeding and overtaking violations

Achieving road safety depends on driver attitudes and behaviours in handling the vehicle on roads. The availability of good road, improvement of vehicle designs and drivers experience lead to reduction in crashes but not prevention of crashes. The study aims to predict the drivers’ intentions towards speeding and overtaking violations when under the influence of motivational factors using belief measure of TPB and DBQ variables. To achieve this, questionnaires were randomly administered to a sample of Ghanaian drivers (N = 354) who held valid driving licenses. This study applied regression techniques. The result shows that the components of TPB and DBQ variables were able to predict drivers’ intentions towards speeding and overtaking violations. The study further shows that components of TPB made larger contributions to the prediction of divers’ intentions to speeding and overtaking than the DBQ. Further analysis revealed that, in the prediction of drivers’ intentions, speeding attitude was the most frequent violations compared to overtaking. The drivers tend to involved in overtaking violations when they perceived the driving motivations would enhance the performance of the behaviour. Additionally, control belief has been the strongest predictor of drivers’ intentions under the influence of motivations to speeding and overtaking violations. It appeared that the drivers who intended to involve in speeding and overtaking violations had strong beliefs in the factors and are more likely to violate based on their beliefs. The practical implications of the findings for the development of interventions to promote road safety and positive changes are also discussed.     

Driver behaviour and traffic accident involvement among professional urban bus drivers in China

The present research aimed to investigate specific behaviors of professional urban bus drivers in China with the revised Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ), and to define the relationships among various driving behaviors (errors, positives, inattention errors, violations), background information (age, years of driving experience, mobility, etc.), self-assessment, and traffic accident. To achieve such goals, the present research designed a four-dimensional DBQ with 20 items for professional urban bus drivers in China. The KMO coefficient of the whole scale was 0.835, and Bartlett’s test was statistically significant (p < 0.000), which demonstrated strong validity of the scale and should be suitable for factor analysis. The four loading factors accounted for 58.991%. In addition, the reliability and effectiveness of the present 20-item scales were measured. The coefficient of internal consistency-Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.881 and the Cronbach’s Alpha Based on Standardized Items was 0.911. This showed that driving behavior scale of professional bus drivers in China was of high reliability and validity. The analysis showed that among the four factors, positive driving behaviors were significantly associated with errors, inattention errors and violations, respectively. Errors, inattention errors and violations correlated positively with each other. This verified that the correlation coefficient of each factor was medium and high, which indicated that the scale had good difference validity. The test content of the total scale was also highly consistent with the test content of each factor, which indicated that the revised scale had good standard related validity. According to the accident prediction model, the variables that significantly affected the occurrence of traffic accidents were daily driving time, positive driving behavior, SE2 (Driving safety), SE3 (Aberrant driver behaviors). The results showed that professional bus drivers often working overtime were most likely to have accidents. The probability of traffic accidents decreased by 53% for every unit of positive driving behavior frequency of professional bus drivers. The more they felt that they had the tendency of aberrant driving behavior, the more likely they were to have traffic accidents. To summary, the present research contributed to validating and improving the DBQ for professional urban drivers in China.     

The differences in hazard response time and driving styles of violation-involved and violation-free taxi drivers

The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between taxi drivers’ traffic violations in past driving and two domains: driving skill (hazard perception skill) and driving style. Five hundred and fifty taxi drivers aged 25 – 59 were recruited to finish a video-based hazard perception test and the Chinese version of the Multidimensional Driving Style Inventory (MDSI). The relationships between hazard response time, driving style and traffic violations were examined, and the differences in hazard response times and driving styles of violation-involved drivers (n = 220) and violation-free drivers (n = 330) were compared. The results showed that taxi drivers’ traffic violations are closely related to their driving styles and hazard response time. Violation-involved drivers scored significantly higher in hazard response time and maladaptive driving styles (i.e., anxious, risky and angry styles) and lower in careful driving style than violation-free drivers. More importantly, drivers’ hazard response time and driving styles can effectively predict their violation involvement in the last 12 months with an overall classification accuracy of 66.4%. The findings provide evidence for the usefulness of video-based hazard perception tests and the MDSI in taxi driver testing and training.     

Driving violations,aggression and perceived consensus

A questionnaire survey of 171 English drivers investigated the relationships between trait aggressiveness, self-reported driving violations, and perceptions of the commission of driving violations by others, using the extended violation scale of the Manchester Driver behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). Drivers who were relatively high on trait aggressiveness reported committing more traffic violations than those who had lower scores. Both aggressive and non aggressive drivers believed that others committed the driving offences more often than they did themselves, although those with a higher score for trait aggressiveness had a greater tendency to do so. The commission of both aggressive and Highway Code violations was predicted by trait anger. Those high on anger and hostility were also more likely to have been involved in a road traffic accident. The implications for road safety interventions are discussed.     

Self-concept as a risky driver: Mediating the relationship between racing video games and on-road driving violations in a community-based sample

PurposeThe mediating relationship of self-conceptions as a risky driver on self-reported driving violations was examined for players of “drive’em up” and “circuit” racing video games using an Internet survey of automobile and racing club members. Structural equation modelling (SEM) tested Fischer et al. (2012) extended socio-cognitive model on the effects of risk-glorifying media on cognitions and actions.MethodAn Internet questionnaire was developed and relied upon validated instruments or questions derived from previous surveys. Driver club members were asked about: (1) their frequency of video game playing, (2) self-perceptions as a risky driver and (3) self-reported driving violations. SEM was performed to examine mediating effects of racing video game playing on self-reported driving violations.ResultsPlaying “drive‘em up” video games positively predicted risky self-concept (β = .15, t = 2.26), which in turn, positively predicted driving violations (β = .73, t = 8.63), while playing “circuit racing” games did not predict risky self-concept, although risky self-concept did predict driving violations (β = .72, t = 8.67).ConclusionsSelf-concept as a risky driver mediated the relationship between racing video game playing and self-reported driving violations for “drive’em up”, but not for “circuit racing” video games. These findings are congruent with Fischer and colleagues’ experimental model that self-concept as a reckless driver mediated the relationship between racing video game playing for “drive’em up”, but not for “circuit racing” games and risk-taking behavior in a video of road traffic scenarios.     

Does traffic congestion increase driver aggression?

In his recent article about aggressive driving, David Shinar proposed that the classical frustration-aggression hypothesis (Dollard, J., Doob, L., Miller, N., Mowrer, O. & Sears, R. (1939). Frustration and aggression. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press) provides a useful tool for understanding driver aggression (Shinar, D. (1998). Aggressive driving: the contribution of the drivers and situation. Transportation Research Part F, 1, 137–160). According to Shinar's (1998) application of the frustration–aggression hypothesis, driver aggression is caused by frustration because of traffic congestion and delays. In the present study, the relationships between exposure to congestion (rush-hour driving) and aggressive violations (DBQ) were investigated in Great Britain, Finland and the Netherlands. Partial correlations showed that the frequency of rush-hour driving did not correlate statistically significantly with driver aggression. Correlations between driving during rush-hour and aggression did not differ in magnitude from those between driving on country roads and aggressive violations. In addition, correlations between exposure to congestion and aggressive violations in countries with large number of vehicles per road kilometre (UK, Netherlands) were not higher than those in a sparsely populated country (Finland). These results from three countries suggest that congestion does not increase driver aggression as directly as suggested by Shinar (1998).     

Why are there sex differences in risky driving? the relationship between sex and gender‐role on aggressive driving,traffic offences,and accident involvement among young turkish drivers

The aim of this study was to investigate how sex (male and female) and gender‐role (masculinity and femininity) and their interaction were associated with risky driving behaviors, traffic offences, and accident involvement among young Turkish drivers. Three‐hundred and fifty‐four young drivers (221 males and 133 females) filled in a form including the short form of Bem Sex‐Role Inventory (BSRI), the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ), questions about a driver's accident history, and background information. The effects were tested on outcome variables by using hierarchical regression analysis. It was found that sex (being male) predicted only the ordinary violations. While masculinity score predicted positively the number of offences, and aggressive and ordinary (highway code) violations, femininity score predicted negatively the number of accidents and offences, aggressive and ordinary violations, and errors. The effect of interaction between masculinity and femininity was only found on the number of accidents and aggressive violations among young drivers. There was no significant interaction effect between sex and gender roles on criterion variables. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–12, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The Role of Affect in Predicting Social Behaviors: The Case of Road Traffic Violations

Increasing support for the relationship between road traffic violations and accident liability has led to research focusing on the motivational factors that promote these behaviors. In Study 1, a large sample of young (17–40 years) drivers were asked to complete the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ; Parker, Reason, Manstead, & Stradling, 1995). Factor analysis revealed 3 factors: errors, highway code violations, and more interpersonally aggressive violations. In Study 2, a smaller sample of drivers was recruited (17–70 years) to investigate further this distinction between different types of violation and also the role of affect in predicting behavior. Factor analysis of a modified DBQ revealed 3 types of violation. Measures of positive affect were found to be good predictors of all 3 violation types. Discussion focuses on social psychological and applied implications.     

Do aggressive driving and negative emotional driving mediate the link between impulsiveness and risky driving among young Italian drivers?

ABSTRACT

The present study examined the contribution of impulsiveness and aggressive and negative emotional driving to the prediction of traffic violations and accidents taking into account potential mediation effects. Three hundred and four young drivers completed self-report measures assessing impulsiveness, aggressive and negative emotional driving, driving violations, and accidents. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the direct and indirect effects of impulsiveness on violations and accidents among young drivers through aggressive and negative emotional driving. Impulsiveness only indirectly influenced drivers’ violations on the road via both the behavioral and emotional states of the driver. On the contrary, impulsiveness was neither directly nor indirectly associated with traffic accidents. Therefore, impulsiveness modulates young drivers’ behavioral and emotional states while driving, which in turn influences risky driving.     

Developing the Impulsive Driver Behavior Scale

The aim of the present study is to develop a driving context specific impulsivity scale. First, a qualitative study was conducted by interviewing 20 individual drivers to develop the scale items based on the definitions of the basic impulsivity dimensions in the literature. Then, a quantitative study with a total of 506 individual drivers to examine the psychometric qualities of the newly developed Impulsive Driver Behavior Scale. In addition, the variance in driver behaviors, namely violations, errors, lapses and positive driver behaviors measured by the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ; Reason, Manstead, Stradling, Baxter, & Campbell, 1990) explained by the general impulsivity scales in the literature and the newly developed scale were compared. In all the comparisons, Impulsive Driver Behavior Scale explained higher amount of variance than the general impulsivity scales. Finally, it was found that the newly developed driving context specific impulsivity scale had incremental validity over the general impulsivity scales in predicting driver behaviors.     

The time-saving bias, speed choices and driving behavior

When drivers are asked to estimate how much time can be saved by increasing speed, they generally underestimate the time saved when increasing from a relatively low speed and overestimate the time saved when increasing from a relatively high speed. This time-saving bias has been demonstrated to affect drivers’ estimations of driving speed as well as drivers’ personal choice of speed. Specifically, drivers with a high time-saving bias chose unduly high speeds, which sometimes results in speeding, more frequently than drivers with a lower degree of the bias. This study sought to determine whether this relationship would be mediated by individual differences in driving behavior – including drivers’ attitudes, norms and habits regarding speeding behavior as well as their level of aberrant driving behavior (committing aggressive or ordinary violations, errors or lapses in driving, measured by the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire). The results showed that the time-saving bias predicted estimations of required speed better than any of these factors, and also better than drivers’ age, gender, education and income, as well as the number of years they have had a license and their monthly driving kilometrage, their prior speeding violations and crash involvement. In predicting drivers’ personal speed choices, the time-saving bias was second only to the frequency of committing ordinary violations.     

Drivers' Ratings of Different Components of Their Own Driving Skill: A Greater Illusion of Superiority for Skills That Relate to Accident Involvement1

Different components of driving skill relate to accident involvement in different ways. For instance, while hazard‐perception skill has been found to predict accident involvement, vehicle‐control skill has not. We found that drivers rated themselves superior to both their peers and the average driver on 18 components of driving skill (N= 181 respondents). These biases were greater for hazard‐perception skills than for either vehicle‐control skills or driving skill in general. Also, ratings of hazard‐perception skill related to self‐perceived safety after overall skill was controlled for. We suggest that although drivers appear to appreciate the role of hazard perception in safe driving, any safety benefit to be derived from this appreciation may be undermined by drivers' inflated opinions of their own hazard‐perception skill. We also tested the relationship between illusory beliefs about driving skill and risk taking and looked at ways of manipulating drivers' illusory beliefs.     

Naturalistic observation of drivers’ hands, speed and headway

Drivers’ hands position have been shown to vary with traffic speed and complexity of the driving environment, such that drivers are more likely to place two hands on the top half of the steering wheel as the supposed driving difficulty increases (Walton, D. & Thomas, J. A. [2005]. Naturalistic observations of driver hand positions. Transportation Research Part F, 8, 229–238). This research evaluates drivers’ hands positions, examining the reliability of the measure and the relationship between the positions of the driver’s hands, vehicle speed, vehicle headway and driver sex. The findings show that the observed positions of drivers’ hands have good inter-rater reliability and demonstrate both temporal and contextual reliability. The positions of drivers’ hands are related to other measures, such that drivers with lower-ranked positions of hands are more likely to travel at higher speeds and accept shorter headways. Female drivers are found to be 2.87 times more likely than males to place two hands rather than one hand on the top half of the steering wheel.     

The effects of safety knowledge and psychological factors on self-reported risky driving behaviors including group violations for e-bike riders in China

ObjectivesIt is unknown that how safety knowledge and psychological factors affect e-bike rider safety. Also, group violation behaviors, which are commonly observed in the field, have been rarely examined for e-bike riders in China. In this paper, the effects of safety knowledge and psychological factors on self-reported risky driving behaviors including group violations were examined.MethodsA questionnaire was developed to acquire information of e-bike riders in Guilin, Guangxi Province. Explanatory factor analysis was used to examine the reliability of the questionnaire and exclude redundant measurement items. Then, a Structure Equation Model was developed to examine the relationships among safety knowledge, safety attitude, risk perception and risky driving behaviors. After that, multiple regression models were fitted to examine the effect of safety knowledge on each type of risky driving behavior, as well as factors associated with group violations. At last, ANOVA tests were conducted to identify significant differences among e-bike rider groups in safety knowledge, safety attitude, and risk perception.ResultsSafety knowledge was found significantly associated with risky driving behaviors for e-bike riders in China, including aggressive driving, erroneous driving, and group violations. E-bike riders severely lack safety knowledge, especially that of traffic rules, including unmarried riders, under-educated riders, riders without driver’s license, younger riders, and riders with little riding experience. Group violations were largely found among e-bike riders, and to be associated with safety knowledge of traffic rules, risk-taking attitude, and riding experience of e-bike riders.ConclusionsThe findings could add some new safety implication and be beneficial for developing safety policies and interventions for e-bikes.