THE ROLE OF PERSONALITY AND ATTITUDES IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENT RISK

This paper describes a study examining the personality and attitude correlates of self-reported fast driving and accident rates. A total of 406 drivers completed a questionnaire containing an Attitude to Driving Violations Scale (ADVS), the Social Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) yielding a score of social deviance, and the speed subscale of the Driving Style Questionnaire (DSQ). Respondents also indicated how many accidents they had had over the past three years, broken down into several categories. The results indicated that drivers with a more positive attitude to driving violations and higher level of social deviance drove faster and reported more accidents, with mileage controlled for. The association with accidents was primarily with those in which the driver could reasonably have been held to play a causal role (eg hitting another vehicle from behind). The results indicate the value of the ADVS as a marker of accident liability and replicate a previous finding of an association between social deviance and accident rates. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD E101100.

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• Corporate Authors:

  PSYCHOLOGY PRESS LTD

  27 CHURCH ROAD
  HOVE, SUSSEX  United Kingdom  BN3 2FA
• Authors:
  • West, R
  • HALL, J
• Publication Date: 1997-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 253-64
• Serial:
  • APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW: SPECIAL ISSUE - TRAFFIC PSYCHOLOGY
  • Volume: 46
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: PSYCHOLOGY PRESS LTD
  • ISSN: 0269-994X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Behavior; Crashes; Crimes; Risk taking
• ITRD Terms: 1643: Accident; 2267: Attitude (psychol); 9001: Behaviour; 1516: Offence; 2259: Risk taking
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00765833
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• ISBN: 086377-965-4
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Jul 1 1999 12:00AM