Personality, risky driving and accident involvement among Norwegian drivers

Despite the large body of studies, the role of personality in risk research still remains debatable and unclear. The objective of this study was to identify determinants of road user behaviour and accident involvement with the aim of developing effective accident countermeasures. Examining relationships between personality, risky driving and involvement in accidents can open up the possibility of early identification of those more likely to be involved in accidents. The aim is not to influence personality as such, but to develop measures constructed for specific groups. The results are based on a self-completion questionnaire survey carried out among a sample of Norwegian drivers in year 2000 and 2001 (n=2605). The Norwegian Directorate of Public Roads financed the study. The questionnaire included measures of risky driving, accident involvement, normlessness, sensation-seeking, locus of control and driver anger. Results showed that those who scored high on sensation seeking, normlessness and driver anger reported more frequent risky driving compared to those who scored low on these variables. They were more often involved in both speeding and ignorance of traffic rules. Respondents involved in risk taking-behaviour experienced near-accidents and crashes leading to both injuries and material damage more often than other 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.     

卡车驾驶员的夜间视力研究

运用ＹＪＳ—ＩＩ型夜间视觉检查仪对２３８名男性卡车驾驶员的暗适应时间和夜间视力进行了测试。结果表明：卡车驾驶员暗适应时间的９５％上限值为５９．６７秒;卡车驾驶员暗适应时间和夜间视力的年龄阈值为４０岁;事故组与安全组卡车驾驶员暗适应时间存在显著差异（Ｐ＜０．０５）,事故组卡车驾驶员的暗适应时间较长,表明卡车驾驶员的暗适应能力差是引起夜间交通事故的重要因素。研究结果为驾驶员的选拔,安全教育以及制订预防夜间交通事放对策提供一定的理论依据。     

Effects of personality on driving behaviors among professional truck drivers: The mediating effect of safety climate

Introduction: The number of traffic accidents involving truck drivers remains high, and strategies to eliminate the probability of such accidents have been proposed, among which enhancing the safety climate has attracted much interest. The main purpose of the current study was to validate the Chinese version of the safety climate scale for truck drivers and apply it to investigate the mediating effect of safety climate between truck driver personality and driving behavior. Method: A total of 389 male truck drivers completed the Big Five Inventory, the Chinese version of the trucking safety climate scale, the driver behavior questionnaire and the positive driver behavior scale. Results: The reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the organization-level safety climate scale and the group-level safety climate scale were confirmed through factor analysis. More importantly, a path analysis revealed that the organization-level safety climate mediated the effects of agreeableness and neuroticism on aggressive violations, ordinary violations and lapses, while the group-level safety climate mediated the influences of agreeableness, neuroticism and openness on positive behavior and all four kinds of aberrant driving behaviors. Conclusions: This study introduced the trucking safety climate scale into China and stressed the significance of improving both the organizational and the group levels of safety climate to reduce accidents involving professional truck drivers. Practical Applications: First, the adapted safety climate scale for Chinese truck drivers contributes to further investigating the role that safety climate plays in the safety problem of truck drivers in China. Moreover, the critical impacts of both levels of the trucking safety climate serve as reminders for relevant companies to not only pay attention to establishing an organization-level safety climate but also invest more effort into promoting the group-level safety climate.     

Driver injury severity study for truck involved accidents at highway-rail grade crossings in the United States

Although trucks only account for approximately 4% of all the vehicles based on the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) database, about 25% involved truck accidents happen at highway-rail grade crossings. This study applied an ordered probit model to explore the determinants of injury severity of truck drivers at highway-rail grade crossing in the United States. Given the importance of trucking to the economics of a country and the safety concerns posed by the trucks (as a result of their large size and weight making them difficult to control, maneuver, and stop), a comprehensive research on truck accidents is critical. Based on data analysis results, the strong effects of driver-, environmental-, weather- characteristics on the injury severities in truck accidents happened at highway-rail grade crossings are found. The findings reveal that better speed control for trucks will significantly reduce driver injury severity in accidents occurring at highway-rail grade crossings. In addition, several truck driver behavior characteristics (such as driving under influence of fatigue during peak hour) were found to be statistically significant predictors of high-level injury severity. Thus, education and enforcement targeted to truck drivers could facilitate safety improvements. Moreover, environmental factor (such as area type and roadway pavement) is found to be statistically significant. Truck drivers are more likely to have severe injury in open space area with low traffic volume compared with other areas. The bad weather and visibility condition is found to increase the probability of truck drivers’ high level injury severity.     

A meta‐analytic review of the Big Five personality factors and accident involvement in occupational and non‐occupational settings

Although a number of studies have examined individual personality traits and their influence on accident involvement, consistent evidence of a predictive relationship is lacking due to contradictory findings. The current study reports a meta‐analysis of the relationship between accident involvement and the Big Five personality dimensions (extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness). Low conscientiousness and low agreeableness were found to be valid and generalizable predictors of accident involvement, with corrected mean validities of .27 and .26, respectively. The context of the accident acts as a moderator in the personality–accident relationship, with different personality dimensions associated with occupational and non‐occupational accidents. Extraversion was found to be a valid and generalizable predictor of traffic accidents, but not occupational accidents. Avenues for further research are highlighted and discussed.     

Screening out accident-prone Iranian drivers: Are their at-fault accidents related to driving behavior?

To provide a scientific background in road safety domain a better understanding of human risk factor is crucial. The aims of the present study were the following: (1) developing an accident prediction model for estimating the at-fault accidents of drivers (2) controlling for the regression-to-the-mean and screening out the accident-prone drivers (3) identification of significant behavioral predictors in at-fault accident occurrences and delving into the relationship between the aberrant driving behaviors and at-fault accidents of those identified as accident-prone. A questionnaire survey compiling various measures of personality type, aberrant driving behavior, demographic and accident history information of 1762 Iranian drivers was conducted in which 1375 male and 387 female participants were of the average age of 35.6 (S.D. = 11.987). To analyze the obtained data, the generalized linear modeling (GLM) approach was taken resulting in four models with various independent variables. The results indicated that age, gender, education level, years of active driving, and especially exposure had an effect on drivers’ at-fault accidents while there was no discernible effect from income level, personality type and area of residence. In the screening procedure, 715 drivers were identified as accident-prone. Behavioral comparison analyses indicated that the lapses, errors, ordinary and aggressive violations are different for the accident-prone drivers. A comparison between the accident-prone and non-accident-prone drivers revealed that the ordinary violations have considerably higher effect than the others on at-fault accidents. Implications of the results are discussed with regard to insurance policies and education interventions.     

卡车驾驶员视觉选择性注意研究

采用注意力测验量表,对２８０名男性卡车驾驶员的视觉选择性注意进行了测量。研究发现：事故组与安全组卡车驾驶员的完成时间、漏划数和平均每秒正确删数有很显著差异,错划数有显著差异;事故多发组与安全组卡车驾驶员的完成时间和平均每秒删数有很显著差异,错划数有显著差异;年龄对卡车驾驶员的视觉选择性注意有显著影响,随着年龄的增加,卡车驾驶员完成视觉选择性注意作业的时间增长,漏划数和错划数增多,平均每秒正确删数减少,而４０－５０岁则是卡车驾驶员视觉选择性注意速度和准确性下降的转折点。     

卡车驾驶员速度估计研究

用速度知觉测试仪,对251名男性卡车驾驶员在四种实验条件下的速度估计准确性进行了测量。结果发现：安全组卡车驾驶员的速度估计准确性优于事故组卡车驾驶员,两者在低速条件下差异不显著,高速条件下差异显著;事故组卡车驾驶员的高估次数高于安全组卡车驾驶员,低速条件下两者不显著.高速条件下差异显著;事故多发组与安全组卡车驾驶员的速度估计准确性在高速及低速长距离条件下差异显著;速度及距离对速度估计准确性有显著影响,且两者之间存在显著的交互作用;年龄对速度估计准确性无显著影响。     

Beyond “accident-proneness”: Using Five-Factor Model prototypes to predict driving behavior

Research on the association between personality traits and driving behavior as well as accident involvement has produced mixed results. In order to obtain empirical evidence for a consistent relation between personality and driving behavior, a prototype approach based on the Five-Factor Model (FFM) was applied. In two samples of drivers, cluster analyses of FFM scales revealed three prototypes that replicate previous ones. The prototypes, labeled Resilient, Overcontrolled, and Undercontrolled, were found to differ reliably in accident involvement and driving behavior, indicating differential accident liability. Undercontrollers are the most problematic drivers followed by Resilients, whereas Overcontrollers most consistently obey traffic rules and drive accordingly.     

Personality,dangerous driving,and involvement in accidents: Testing a contextual mediated model

The present study tested the role of various personality traits in explaining dangerous driving and involvement in accidents, using a contextual mediated model (N = 311). We initially found direct effects of personality traits on dangerous driving indicators (Big-5, Dark Triad, sensation seeking, aggression, and impulsivity). Subsequently, personality variables with predictive power were tested in the mediation model. Indirect effects of anger, psychopathy and sensation seeking on the history of involvement in traffic accidents were found, which was predicted directly by risky driving. The results are discussed based on the characteristics of each trait. Overall, our research replicates and extends previous findings and highlights the importance of psychological evaluations (e.g., personality test) when prospective drivers are applying for a driver license.     

事故驾驶员与安全驾驶员人格特征的比较研究

本研究采用柳井晴夫等人编制的新性格检查问卷,对６０名公交车驾驶员的人格特征进行了测量．结果表明：（１）事故组驾驶员与安全组驾驶员在五个人格特征上存在显著性差异,其中事故组驾驶员攻击性、神经质倾向较强,而持久性、协调性和同情性较差．（２）男性事故组驾驶员与安全组驾驶员在四个人格特征上存在显著性差异,其中事故组驾驶员攻击性和神经质倾向较强,但持久性和协调性较差。（３）女性事故组驾驶员与安全组驾驶员在两个人格特征上存在显著性差异,前者较后者攻击性强,但缺乏同情性．（４）性别在１２项人格特征上无显著性差异．本研究结果可为设计制定专门应用于交通领域的人格测验,以及对驾驶员的选拔、培训、教育和管理提供一定的理论依据．     

Visual/cognitive correlates of vehicle accidents in older drivers

Older drivers have more accidents per miles driven than any other age group and tend to have significant impairments in their visual function, which could interfere with driving. Previous research has largely failed to document a link between vision and driving in the elderly. We have taken a comprehensive approach by examining how accident frequency in older drivers relates to the visual/cognitive system at a number of levels: ophthalmological disease, visual function, visual attention, and cognitive function. The best predictor of accident frequency as recorded by the state was a model incorporating measures of early visual attention and mental status, which together accounted for 20% of the variance, a much stronger model than in earlier studies. Those older drivers with a visual attentional disorder or with poor scores on a mental status test had 3-4 times more accidents (of any type) and 15 times more intersection accidents than those without these problems.     

事故多发驾驶员与安全驾驶员反应时的比较研究

本文对18名事故多发卡车驾驶员和18名安全卡车驾驶员的视觉、听觉简单反应时、选择反应时以及决策时间进行了比较研究.结果表明事故多发组卡车驾驶员的视觉、听觉简单反应时比安全组卡车驾驶员长,但差异不显著;事故多发组卡车驾驶员的视觉、听觉选择反应时与决策时间都比安全组卡车驾驶员长,且差异显著.本研究结果为我国深入开展驾驶员的选拔、培训与驾驶适应性检测提供理论依据与技术支持.     

Changes in driver celeration behaviour over time: Do drivers learn from collisions?

Although it is well known that drivers’ accident risk changes with experience, it has never been specified exactly how this comes about in terms of changes of behaviour, or what features of their experiences are important for this change. One possibility is that drivers learn from their collision involvement, and change their behaviour after such events, as some studies indicate. However, relative accident involvement tends to be very stable over time, which indicates the opposite. Repeated measurements of celeration (speed change) behaviour of bus drivers were compared between two groups; drivers without accidents within the measurement period (about 3 years), and drivers with at least one crash. For the crash group, there was a steady decline in their celeration values over time, but this was not related to their crashes. A similar reduction was also present for the non-crash sample. The results would seem to be in agreement with the theory of accident proneness; there exist stability in driver behaviour over time, despite accident involvement. However, this stability is relative within the sample, and not absolute. The reduction in celeration values for both groups over time would seem to indicate that drivers learn from their experiences in general, but not specifically from accidents. The present study seems to indicate that daily experience of driving situations is the strongest factor for changes in driving behaviour.     

Personality versus traffic accidents; meta-analysis of real and method effects

ProblemThe association between personality and traffic accident involvement has been extensively researched, but the literature is difficult to summarise, because different personality instruments and statistics have been used, and effect sizes differ strongly between studies.MethodA meta-analysis of studies which had used measures of personality which could be converted into Big Five dimensions, and traffic accidents as the dependent variable, was undertaken.AnalysisOutlier values were identified and removed. Also, analyses on effects of common method variance, type of instrument, dissemination bias and restriction of variance were undertaken.ResultsOutlier problems exist in these data, which prohibit any certainty in the conclusions. Each of the 5 personality dimensions were predictors of accident involvement, but the effects were small (r < .1), which is much weaker than in a previous meta-analysis. Effect sizes were dependent upon variance in the accident variable, and the true (population) effects could therefore be larger than the present estimates, something which could be ascertained by new studies using high-risk samples over longer time periods. Newer studies and those using Big Five instruments tended to have smaller effects. No effects of common method variance could be found.ConclusionsTests of personality are weak predictors of traffic accident involvement, compared to other variables, such as previous accidents. Research into whether larger effects of personality can be found with methods other than self-reports is needed.     

Assessment of drivers' comprehension of traffic signs based on their traffic,personal and social characteristics

The relationship between drivers' personal characteristics and their comprehension of posted signs is investigated in this study. The characteristics considered here include: experience, accident per experience ratio, age, marital status, sex type, nationality, educational background and monthly income. The populations sampled are from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. A total of 28 posted signs were considered.On an average, drivers comprehended only 56% of the posted signs. Education, monthly income and nationality were related to drivers' comprehension of traffic signs. Western drivers comprehend the signs better than other nationalities. Gulf Cooperation Council States and Arab drivers comprehended the signs less well. Male drivers scored higher than female ones. Age, marital status, experience and accident rates had no effect on drivers comprehension of signs. The results raise serious questions about the applicability of the signing system worldwide. The results indicate that drivers' personal characteristics are primarily associated with their understanding capabilities and not with their accident involvement rates. These findings are believed to be important for the designers of road signs. They are also important for the decision makers for proper allocation of resources in the field of traffic education.     

When technology tells you how you drive––truck drivers’ attitudes towards feedback by technology

Behavior based safety approaches have proven effective in reducing accidents in industrial settings, but cannot easily be extended to commercial driving. For considerable periods of working time, truck drivers are alone, and do not interact with peers. It might be possible to use data gathered by new in-vehicle technology to provide real-time and post-shift feedback to drivers about their driving behavior. This paper reports the results of focus group interviews conducted with subject matter experts from the trucking industry (truck drivers, supervisors, managers, and other involved persons, such as insurance industry safety professionals). The focus groups discussed safety critical behaviors in commercial driving, the best way to provide feedback to truck drivers, and benefits of feedback by technology as well as concerns drivers and operators may have regarding monitoring and feedback systems. The focus group discussions showed that, in general, drivers would like to receive more feedback and that feedback by technology is acceptable, if designed and implemented properly. In addition, the participants had many suggestions on how to properly design and implement such systems.     

Cohort effects in older drivers' accident type distribution: are older drivers as old as they used to be?

Accident type distributions were compared in successive cohorts of older drivers, with focus on intersection accidents. It was thought that if the increasing share of intersection accidents is a truly age-related phenomenon, as opposed to cohort-related or time-related, it would remain fairly constant over time in different cohorts. The data consisted of Finnish traffic insurance data on private car accidents of drivers aged 60 yr or more who were legally responsible for causing the accident, and covered the years 1987–1995 (N=56,481). Some changes in accident type distributions were found across cohorts. Among male drivers aged 60–79 yr, the portion of intersection accidents decreased in successive cohorts, so that the younger cohorts showed the age-typical accident picture at a somewhat later age than the older cohorts. In contrast, for male drivers aged 80 yr or more, there was an increase in the share of intersection accidents in more recent cohorts. Among female drivers, a decrease in intersection accidents only reached statistical significance for drivers aged 60–69 yr, and for the oldest age group (75+ yr) no change was observed. For both male and female drivers, the tendency to incur accidents at intersections increased with age in all cohorts. The occurrence of intersection accidents thus is both an age-related and a cohort-related phenomenon: age-related in the sense that it will emerge eventually, but with cohort-related variance in timing.