Parents’ perceptions of the Family Climate for Road Safety: Associations with parents’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward accompanied driving,and teens’ driving styles

In order to better understand parental influence on teen driving, a series of three studies were conducted among parents of young drivers to examine the association between their scores on the Family Climate for Road Safety Scale (FCRSS; Taubman – Ben-Ari & Katz – Ben-Ami, 2013) and three relevant factors: parental self-efficacy (Study 1, n = 101); parents’ attitudes toward accompanied driving (Study 2, n = 100); and teen’s driving styles (Study 3, n = 235 parents–young drivers pairs). The findings of Study 1 revealed significant associations between parents’ scores on the positive FCRSS dimensions and their self-reported parental competence. In addition, parents’ lack of commitment to safe driving was related to lower parental self-efficacy. Study 2 indicated significant associations between parents’ scores on the positive FCRSS dimensions and the positive attitude of relatedness during the accompanied driving phase. Negative associations were found between these FCRSS dimensions and negative perceptions of the accompanied driving phase (i.e., tension, disapproval, and avoidance). The findings of Study 3 showed significant associations between parents’ scores on the positive FCRSS dimensions and their offspring’s careful driving style, as well as negative associations between these dimensions and offspring’s endorsement of the reckless, angry, and anxious driving styles. Taken together, the results indicate the importance of the family climate as part of a global understanding of the dynamic surrounding youngsters’ driving. Furthermore, they show that the particular driving-related family climate is associated not only with parents’ self-perceptions and conduct in the early stages of their children’s driving (the accompanied driving phase of a GDL), but also impacts the way teenagers ultimately choose to drive, when they are on their own. Implications for interventions are discussed.     

Dual-task effects of simulated lane navigation and story recall in older adults with and without memory impairment

ABSTRACT

While driving is a complex task, it becomes relatively automatic over time although unfamiliar situations require increased cognitive effort. Much research has examined driving risk in cognitively impaired elders and found little effect. This study assessed whether mildly memory impaired elders made disproportionate errors in driving or story recall, under simultaneous simulated driving and story recall. Forty-six healthy (61% women; mean age = 76.4) and 15 memory impaired (66% women, mean age = 79.4) elders participated. Cognitive status was determined by neuropsychological performance. Results showed that during dual-task conditions, participants stayed in lane more, and recalled stories more poorly, than when they did the tasks separately. Follow-up analysis revealed that verbatim recall, in particular, was reduced while driving for healthy participants. While memory impaired participants performed more poorly than healthy controls on both tasks, cognitive status was not associated with greater dual-task costs when driving and story recall were combined.     

Decreasing driver speeding with feedback and a token economy

On-road research suggests that driver feedback combined with a token economy (a system of delayed reinforcement whereby tokens or points are distributed following a desired behaviour and are later exchanged for desired items) can reduce speeding, and that an incentive system without feedback may be sufficient to achieve this reduction. In two studies, we investigated the necessary and sufficient conditions required for this intervention to reduce speeding, and the efficacy of conducting such research using a driving simulator. Study 1 served to validate the simulator procedure. Participants completed a simulated drive while receiving feedback on their speed and a speed-based token economy. The intervention decreased their speeding compared with that of a control group. Study 2 investigated the amount of speed reduction that could be achieved with just one intervention component (i.e., feedback alone or a token economy alone) compared with feedback and a token economy combined or a control condition. Participants completed a 30-min simulated drive. Overall, drivers who received feedback combined with a token economy spent the least amount of time driving above the speed limit, had the slowest mean speed, and had the smallest standard deviation of speed. Drivers exposed to a token economy alone showed similar speed reductions. However, drivers exposed to feedback alone drove at speeds similar to control participants. Replicating these results under more realistic operating conditions could inform policy-makers and car manufacturers. Furthermore, the simulator proved a cost-effective and efficient means for examining the intervention.     

A Go/No-go approach to uncovering implicit attitudes towards safe and risky driving

Self-report measures of driving-related attitudes and beliefs miss potentially important precursors of driving behaviour, namely, automatic and implicit thought processes. The present study used an adapted Go/No-go Association Task to measure implicit thought without relying on the participants’ self-reports. Implicit attitudes towards safe and risky driving were measured in 53 Danish drivers (31 female, 22 male). Further, we explored the relationship between implicit attitudes towards risky and safe driving, and self-reported driving behaviour and skills. The results suggest that implicit attitudes towards driving behaviour can be measured reliably with the Go/No-go Association Task. Also, the results suggest that implicit attitudes towards safe driving and risky driving, respectively, may be separable constructs, and might thus stem from different cognitive processes. Finally, implicit attitudes were significantly related to self-reported driving behaviour and skills for male (but not female) drivers. Pending future research with larger sample sizes, the difference between implicit attitudes towards safe versus risky driving that we observed may contribute to a greater theoretical understanding of the causes of safe and risky driving.     

Psychometric adaptation of the driving anger expression inventory in a Chinese sample

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties and the factorial structure of the Driving Anger Expression Inventory (DAX) in a Chinese sample. We also explored the relationships among driving anger expression, general anger expression, and driving outcomes. Three hundred and fifty-eight drivers completed the Chinese version of the DAX, the Anger Expression Scale (AX), the Dula Dangerous Driving Index (DDDI) and a questionnaire about several types of traffic violations. A confirmatory factor analysis of the Chinese DAX yielded a four-factor solution with 20 items. This solution showed the best goodness of fit of the data and acceptable reliability. The validity of the revised DAX was also verified. The aggressive expression forms were positively correlated with dangerous driving behaviors. Using the vehicle to express anger was associated with fines. The aggressive forms were also positively correlated with general anger expression-out and negatively correlated with general anger control. The adaptive expression of anger was positively correlated with anger control but negatively correlated with dangerous driving behaviors, penalty points and fines. Furthermore, young drivers (<30 years old) reported more personal and physical aggressive expressions of anger than other drivers. Gender differences were only found in some age groups. Thus, the revised DAX was confirmed to be a reliable and valuable instrument to measure forms of driving anger expression in traffic environments in China.     

The factors underlying the decision to text while driving

Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this study looked at the motivations and reasons behind the behaviour of texting while driving. Following an elicitation study, 150 participants completed a questionnaire measuring self-efficacy and moral norms in addition to traditional TPB variables. Texting while driving was found to be a common behaviour although prevalence varied between age groups. While the youngest age group were more likely to have ever sent a text message while driving, those aged 35–44 years old were most likely to have read a message while driving and to intend to text while driving in the future. Moral norms had the strongest significant correlation with intentions to text while driving. Similar to past research the traditional TPB variables explained significant variance in intentions to perform the behaviour. To be fully effective, future campaigns and interventions to reduce the behaviour are advised to focus on the moral aspect of the behaviour and the beliefs that it saves time and prevents boredom. The setting of campaigns or interventions and the mode of delivery should also be considered. Efforts to deter the behaviour should be aimed at those of all ages and not just younger drivers.     

The effects of music tempo on simulated driving performance and vehicular control

The automobile is currently the most popular and frequently reported location for listening to music. Yet, not much is known about the effects of music on driving performance, and only a handful of studies report that music-evoked arousal generated by loudness decreases automotive performance. Nevertheless, music tempo increases driving risks by competing for attentional space; the greater number of temporal events which must be processed, and the frequency of temporal changes which require larger memory storage, distract operations and optimal driving capacities. The current study explored the effects of music tempo on PC-controlled simulated driving. It was hypothesized that simulated driving while listening to fast-paced music would increase heart rate (HR), decrease simulated lap time, and increase virtual traffic violations. The study found that music tempo consistently affected both simulated driving speed and perceived speed estimates: as the tempo of background music increased, so too did simulated driving speed and speed estimate. Further, the tempo of background music consistently affected the frequency of virtual traffic violations: disregarded red traffic-lights (RLs), lane crossings (LNs), and collisions (ACs) were most frequent with fast-paced music. The number of music-related automobile accidents and fatalities is not a known statistic. Police investigators, drivers, and traffic researchers themselves are not mindful of the risks associated with listening to music while driving. Implications of the study point to a need for drivers' education courses to raise public awareness about the effects of music during driving.     

Roadway justice – Making angry drivers,happy drivers

The enforcement of traffic laws by police punishes law violators and reduces the likelihood that other drivers will violate laws via vicariously perceived punishment. The purpose of the current study was to determine the effect of punishment of violators on the feelings of anger and happiness in witnesses and victims. A sample of 279 individuals was exposed to four animated simulations of unjust driving behavior. Participants indicated how angry and happy the behaviors made them feel. Participants then indicated feelings of happiness and anger a second time, after being informed that the violator had been punished. While inconsistent, analyses generally indicated that perceived punishment reduced feelings of anger and increased feelings of happiness. In addition to increasing roadway safety, the current study shows the importance of active police enforcement, which could positively impact the emotional states of victims and witnesses of unjust driving behavior.