DRIVING EXPERIENCE, PERSONALITY, AND SKILL AND SAFETY-MOTIVE DIMENSIONS IN DRIVERS' SELF-ASSESSMENTS

This study was aimed at measuring skill and safety-motive dimensions in driver's self assessments of their driving abilities and at investigating correlations among 3 driving inventories and 6 general personality measures. Questionnaires were completed by 113 students with a driver's license. The orthogonal model with the skill and safety-motive factors explained 35% of the variance in the questionnaire based on the work of Spolander (1983) and Hatakka, Keskinen, Katila, and Laapotti (1991). Multiple regression analysis showed driving experience to be a significant predictor of safety and skill-oriented driving; that is, with driving experience drivers assess themselves as more fluent in handling the car, but lower in safety aspects of driving. The safety-motive scale had only weak correlations with driving-specific or personality measures except the Lie-scale of the EPQ. This suggests that 'safe driving' expressed in questionnaires is safety jargon soon forgotten after driving school with driving experience, possibly together with the corresponding safety behavior, rather than a permanent response tendency. The skill scale correlated strongly with scales expressing an emotional attitude to driving and with a sense of coherence. Driving aggression and dislike of driving DBI scales correlated with neuroticism, Type-A behavior, self-esteem, sense of coherence, and locus of control, whereas the MDIE scales correlated only with Type-A behavior and neuroticism.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01918869
• Corporate Authors:

  Elsevier

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  Kidlington, Oxford  United Kingdom  OX5 1GB
• Authors:
  • Lajunen, T
  • SUMMALA, H
• Publication Date: 1995

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 307-318
• Serial:
  • Personality and Individual Differences
  • Volume: 19
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0191-8869
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01918869

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Abilities; Driver experience; Drivers; Driving; Highway safety; Human subject testing; Multiple regression analysis; Perception; Personality; Questionnaires; Self describing data
• Uncontrolled Terms: Safety motive dimensions
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00784156
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 3 2000 12:00AM