Elderly drivers and their accidents: the Aging Driver Questionnaire

The Manchester Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) was included as part of a questionnaire survey of 1989 drivers aged 50 or over. Previous research has differentiated three main types of aberrant driver behavior: errors, lapses and violations. Each of these has different psychological origins, and different implications for road safety interventions [Reason et al., 1990. Ergonomics 33, 1315–1312]. It has also been shown that, using a full age-range sample of drivers, reported violations were statistically associated with accident involvement, whereas errors and lapses were not [Parker et al., 1995a. Ergonomics 38, 1036–1048; Parker et al., 1995b. Accident Analysis and Prevention 27, 571–581]. Although factor analysis of the DBQ responses of this sample produced five factors, the original three-way distinction was preserved. However the pattern of relationships between factor scores and accident involvement was different. Relatively high scores on the error factor and the lapse factor were predictive of involvement in an active accident, while passive accident involvement was associated with high scores on the lapse factor.     

Dimensions of driving anger and their relationships with aberrant driving

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between driving anger and aberrant driving behaviours. An internet-based questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of Chinese drivers, with driving anger measured by a 14-item short Driving Anger Scale (DAS) and the aberrant driving behaviours measured by a 23-item Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). The results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated that the three-factor model (hostile gesture, arrival-blocking and safety-blocking) of the DAS fitted the driving anger data well. The Exploratory Factor Analysis on DBQ data differentiated four types of aberrant driving, viz. emotional violation, error, deliberate violation and maintaining progress violation. For the anger–aberration relation, it was found that only “arrival-blocking” anger was a significant positive predictor for all four types of aberrant driving behaviours. The “safety-blocking” anger revealed a negative impact on deliberate violations, a finding different from previously established positive anger–aberration relation. These results suggest that drivers with different patterns of driving anger would show different behavioural tendencies and as a result intervention strategies may be differentially effective for drivers of different profiles.     

The Driver Behaviour Questionnaire in Arab Gulf countries: Qatar and United Arab Emirates

Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) is one of the most widely used instruments for measuring self-reported driving style and investigating the relationship between driving behaviour and accident involvement. In spite of the fact that Arab Gulf countries have a higher road accident fatality rate compared to European countries and USA, the DBQ has not been used in Arab countries so far. The aim of the present study was to investigate the factor structure of the DBQ, then to examine the relationships between the factors of the DBQ and accident involvement, and finally to compare DBQ scores between the two gulf countries: Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this study, 1110 Qatari (263 females and 847 males) and 1286 UAE drivers (294 females and 992 males) filled a survey questionnaire including the DBQ and background information. The results showed that UAE drivers scored higher on almost all DBQ items than Qatari drivers. Surprisingly, only very small differences between men and women on the DBQ item scores were found in UAE. Factor analysis resulted in four factors, which were named as errors, pushing-speeding violations, lapses, and aggression-speeding violations. However, there were a number of differences in the factor structure of the DBQ in UAE and Qatar when compared to the theoretical four-factor structure of the DBQ. Reliabilities of some subscales were also questionably lower than in the original British data. Logistic regression analyses showed that errors, lapses, and aggression-speeding violations predicted accident involvement in Qatar but not in UAE after controlling the effect of the demographic variables (age, sex, and annual mileage).     

Age,gender, mileage and the DBQ: The validity of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire in different driver groups

The Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) is one of the most widely used instruments for measuring self-reported driving behaviors. Despite the popularity of the DBQ, the applicability of the DBQ in different driver groups has remained mostly unexamined. The present study measured aberrant driving behavior using the original DBQ (Reason, J.T., Manstead, A., Stradling, S.G., Baxter, J., Campbell, K., 1990. Errors and violations on the road – a real distinction. Ergonomics, 33 (10/11), 1315–1332) to test the factorial validity and reliability of the instrument across different subgroups of Danish drivers. The survey was conducted among 11,004 Danish driving license holders of whom 2250 male and 2190 female drivers completed the questionnaire containing background variables and the DBQ. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original three-factor solution, a four-factor solution and a two-factor solution had acceptable fit when using the whole sample. However, fit indices of these solutions varied across subgroups. The presents study illustrates that both the original DBQ and a Danish four-factor DBQ structure is relatively stable across subgroups, indicating factorial validity and reliability of the DBQ. However, as the Danish DBQ structure has an overall better fit, the present study highlights the importance of performing an explorative analysis when applying the DBQ in order to assess the problem areas within a driving population.     

Self-reports of aberrant behaviour on the roads: errors and violations in a sample of Greek drivers

Recent studies have shown that unsafe driver acts can be classified into two distinct categories (i.e.. errors and violations) entailing different measures for reducing road traffic accidents. A survey of over 1,400 drivers in Greece is reported in which a variety of aberrant driving behaviours have been identified. The present study has confirmed the results of earlier studies in the driving populations of Britain. Australia and Sweden that errors and violations are the major determinants in the factor structure of aberrant behaviours. Three types of violations were identified including, highway code-, aggressive- and parking-violations (or situational violations). Mistakes and lapses were two major forms of errors. The factor analysis identified another two classes of behaviour that could not be accounted for very well by the error-violation distinction. One class of behaviours referred to a state of low preparedness and negligence while the other class referred to communication errors and 'social disregard' for the other road users. Each class of behaviour was found to have different demographic correlates. Finally, accident liability was predicted by self-reported tendency to commit highway-code violations, but not by tendency to make errors due to failures of judgement (i.e.. mistakes) or lapses. Aggressive violations were significantly related to involvement in speeding convictions and law-breaking whilst highway-code violations were related to speeding convictions only.     

Self-reported driving behaviors as a function of trait anxiety

This study examined self-reported driving behaviors in 120 (Israeli) male drivers as a function of trait anxiety (TA). TA was assessed through the TA scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. For the analysis of driving behaviors, the present study used the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) and adopted previous distinctions between four classes of behaviors within the DBQ: errors, lapses, ordinary violations and aggressive violations. Regression analyses revealed that level of TA had a significant direct positive effect on all dependent variables, suggesting riskier driving behaviors among high-anxious individuals. Significant logarithmic effects for all measures indicate that these aberrant driving behaviors increase more at increasing LTA-, than at increasing HTA-values. Consistent with the general adverse effects of anxiety on performance effectiveness, the present findings as well, are interpreted in the framework of theories which suggest that worries occupy the capacities of working memory, at the expense of the task to be performed. The positive relation between aggressive violations and TA is sought to reflect low levels of emotional adjustment among high-anxious individuals.     

Patterns of driver stress and coping strategies in a Greek sample and their relationship to aberrant behaviors and traffic accidents

This paper presents an investigation into the relationship between driver stress, coping strategies and aberrant driving of a Greek sample of company employees (N=714). The results supported the main factor structures of the Driver Behavior Inventory (Matthews, G., Tsuda, A., Xin, G., Ozeki, Y., 1999. Individual differences in driver stress vulnerability in a Japanese sample. Ergonomics 42, 401-415) and Driver Behavior Questionnaire (Kontogiannis, T., Kossiavelou, Z., Marmaras, N., 2002. Self-reports of aberrant behavior on the roads: errors and violations in a sample of Greek drivers. Accident Anal. Prev. 34, 391-399). An inventory of coping strategies was also examined in terms of self reports. Confrontive coping was characteristic of drivers high on aggression who also had higher rates of mistakes and violations. Coping in terms of self-criticism was exhibited by drivers high on dislike of driving (i.e., anxiety) who reported a higher incidence of mistakes. Task-focus coping was characteristic of alertness and had a weak correlation with confidence. Drivers high in confidence reported fewer mistakes and violations which, in association with low perception of risk, was a particularly worrying aspect of driving. A contextual model of accident involvement was tested with LISREL in which violations yielded a direct effect whilst aggression yielded an indirect effect mediated by violations. Alertness and confidence were both related to safety orientation but failed to predict accident rates and speeding convictions.     

Driver Behaviour Questionnaire: a follow-up study

The aim of the present study was to investigate time-across stability of different factor solutions (two to six factors) of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and to examine the changes on self-reported driving pattern in a follow-up sample (n=622) after three years of the first responses. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that there was a significant change between Time 1 and Time 2 scores in six items of the DBQ. Drivers reported less competitiveness while driving at Time 2 but more speeding, drinking and driving, driving to wrong destinations and having no recollection of the road just travelled. Significant Time x Sex x Age interactions were found in change scores of four items. Young males and middle-aged female drivers emerged as a group of drivers who changed their self-reported driving pattern over three years. Additionally, sex, age or both had main effects on scores of 21 items. Males and young drivers reported more violations than females and older drivers, whereas female drivers reported more errors and lapses. After running possible factor solutions with Tucker's Phi agreement coefficients, the results indicated that the four- and two-factor solutions were the most stable and interpretable ones. The two-factor solution showed better time-across stability than the four-factor structure did, although the factor solutions found at Time 1 and Time 2 were not as identical as expected. Separate analysis revealed that drivers who had high annual mileage at Time 1 and Time 2 showed the strongest two-factor time-across stability. The test-retest reliability was 0.50 for errors, 0.76 for violations and 0.61 for the whole scale.     

Measurement invariance of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire across samples of young drivers from Finland and Ireland

This article investigates the factor structure of the 27-item Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) in two samples of young drivers (18–25 years of age); one from Finland and the other from Ireland. We compare the two-, three-, and four-factor solutions using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and show that the four-factor model (with the latent variables rule violations, aggressive violations, slips and lapses) fits the data from the two countries best. Next, we compare the fit of this model across samples by the means of a measurement invariance analysis in the CFA framework. The analysis shows that the four-factor model fails to fit both samples equally well. This is mainly because the socially-oriented latent variables (rule violations and aggressive violations) are different in nature in the two samples. The cognitively-oriented latent variables (slips and lapses) are, however, similar across countries and the mean values of slips can be compared using latent variable models. However, the common practice of calculating sum scores to represent the four latent DBQ variables and comparing them across subgroups of respondents is unfounded, at least when comparing young respondents from Finland and Ireland.     

Validation of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire in a representative sample of drivers in Australia

The Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) is a widely used measure of driving behaviours that may increase a driver's risk of crash involvement. However, there are several different versions of the DBQ varying in terms of number of items and factor structure. The aim of the current research was to assess the construct validity of the popular 28-item four-factor DBQ solution in a representative sample of drivers in Australia. A further aim was to test the factorial invariance of the measure across gender, age and also between fleet and non-fleet drivers using multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. Data on a range of attitudes towards road safety were collected using an online survey. A stratified sampling procedure was undertaken to ensure the age, gender and location distributions of participants were representative of the Australian population. A total of 2771 responses were obtained from fully licensed motor vehicle drivers (male: 46%). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the 28-item four-factor DBQ in the Australian sample. The DBQ was also found to be gender-invariant and strong partial measurement invariance was found for drivers aged from 26 to 64, but not for younger (17–25) or older (65–75) drivers. Modifications to the DBQ suggest how the DBQ can be improved for use in these two age groups.     

Validation of the driver behaviour questionnaire using behavioural data from an instrumented vehicle and high-fidelity driving simulator

Data from two previously published studies were used to examine the correlations between scores on the violation, error and lapse sub-scales of the driver behaviour questionnaire, and observed driving speed. One dataset utilised data from an instrumented vehicle, which recorded driver speed on bends on a rural road. The other utilised data from a driving simulator study. Generally in both datasets the DBQ violation subscale was associated with objectively-measured speed, while the error and lapse sub-scales were not. These findings are consistent with the idea that the DBQ is a valid measure of observed behaviour in real driving (its original intended use) and also in simulated driving. The fact that associations were the same in real and simulated driving lends further support to the relative validity of driving simulation. The need for larger and more focused studies examining the role of different motivations in different driving situations is discussed.     

Personality domains and traits that predict self-reported aberrant driving behaviours in a southeastern US university sample

Personality traits are meaningful predictors of many significant life outcomes, including mortality. Several studies have investigated the relationship between specific personality traits and driving behaviours, e.g., aggression and speeding, in an attempt to identify traits associated with elevated crash risk. These studies, while valuable, are limited in that they examine only a narrow range of personality constructs and thus do not necessarily reveal which traits in constellation best predict aberrant driving behaviours. The primary aim of this study was to use a comprehensive measure of personality to investigate which personality traits are most predictive of four types of aberrant driving behaviour (Aggressive Violations, Ordinary Violations, Errors, Lapses) as indicated by the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). We recruited 285 young adults (67% female) from a university in the southeastern US. They completed self-report questionnaires including the DBQ and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, which indexes 5 broad personality domains (Antagonism, Detachment, Disinhibition, Negative Affectivity, Psychoticism) and 25 specific trait facets. Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate evidence for the DBQ internal structure. Structural regression analyses revealed that the personality domains of Antagonism and Negative Affectivity best predicted both Aggressive Violations and Ordinary Violations, whereas the best predictors of both Errors and Lapses were Negative Affectivity, Disinhibition and to a lesser extent Antagonism. A more nuanced analysis of trait facets revealed that Hostility was the best predictor of Aggressive Violations; Risk-taking and Hostility of Ordinary Violations; Irresponsibility, Separation Insecurity and Attention Seeking of Errors; and Perseveration and Irresponsibility of Lapses.     

A comparison of static and dynamic hazard perception tests

Hazard perception is a vital component to safe driving and hazard perception tests (HPTs) are being used with greater frequency for driver training, assessment and licensure. In this study, we compared a dynamic HPT (Scialfa et al., 2011), which presents short video scenes to observers and a static HPT (Scialfa et al., 2012), which uses still images. Both tests require the observer to indicate the presence of a traffic conflict that would lead to a collision between the “camera” vehicle and another road user or fixed object. Young adult drivers (n = 56) completed both forms of the HPT, along with a modified version of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire ( Reason et al., 1990) and a measure of simple reaction time. Self-reported collision and moving violation data were also collected. As in previous work, both static and dynamic HPTs had good reliability. The correlation between composite static and dynamic scores was approximately .40, but was reduced to approximately .25 when simple reaction time was controlled. Both HPTs predicted lapses and errors on the Driver Behavior Questionnaire, but neither predicted self-reported collisions or moving violations. Discussion focuses on the differences in visual cues available in dynamic and static scenes and how these differences could influence decisions about potential hazards.     

Measuring errors and violations on the road: A bifactor modeling approach to the Driver Behavior Questionnaire

The Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) is a self-report measure of driving behavior that has been widely used over more than 20 years. Despite this wealth of evidence a number of questions remain, including understanding the correlation between its violations and errors sub-components, identifying how these components are related to crash involvement, and testing whether a DBQ based on a reduced number of items can be effective. We address these issues using a bifactor modeling approach to data drawn from the UK Cohort II longitudinal study of novice drivers. This dataset provides observations on 12,012 drivers with DBQ data collected at .5, 1, 2 and 3 years after passing their test. A bifactor model, including a general factor onto which all items loaded, and specific factors for ordinary violations, aggressive violations, slips and errors fitted the data better than correlated factors and second-order factor structures. A model based on only 12 items replicated this structure and produced factor scores that were highly correlated with the full model. The ordinary violations and general factor were significant independent predictors of crash involvement at 6 months after starting independent driving. The discussion considers the role of the general and specific factors in crash involvement.     

Young novice driver subtypes: Relationship to driving violations, errors and lapses

The present study aimed to identify, in a large Italian sample of young, novice drivers, specific subtypes of drivers on the basis of combinations of self-reported personality traits (i.e., driving anger, anxiety, angry hostility, excitement-seeking, altruism, normlessness and driving locus of control) and to evaluate their high-risk driving behaviors not only in terms of traffic rule violations and risk-taking behaviors, but also in terms of driving errors and lapses as measured by the Manchester Driver Behavior Questionnaire. Participants were 1008 high school students between the ages of 18 and 23 years, with valid driver's licenses. On the basis of a cluster analysis of the personality variables, three easily interpretable driver subgroups were identified (risky drivers, worried drivers and careful drivers) that differed on self-reported accident involvement, attitudes toward traffic safety and risk perception, as well as on driving violations, errors, and lapses. The inclusion of internal and external driving locus of control, variables not previously considered in similar cluster studies, provided a relevant contribution to the final cluster solution. Further, the use of the Driving Behavior Questionnaire permitted the differentiation between deliberate deviations from safe driving practices and mistakes due to misjudgments or lapses in attention. This distinction was critical for understanding the behavior of each of the three identified subgroups of drivers, and for planning interventions to promote safe driving.     

Effects of higher-order driving skill training on young, inexperienced drivers' on-road driving performance

The aim of the current study was to compare the effects of training in higher-order driving skills (e.g., perceptual, motivational, insight) and vehicle handling skill training in relation to on-road driving performance, hazard perception, attitudes to risky driving and driver confidence levels in young, inexperienced drivers. Thirty-six young drivers (23 males and 13 females, average age 16.3 years), mostly on a restricted NZ driver licence, participated in a Driver Training Research camp. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three equally sized groups according to the type of driving skill training (5 days) they received: higher-order, vehicle handling or control (no training). Professional driver assessors conducted a comprehensive driving assessment before (Baseline) and after the training (Post Training). At both time points, participants also carried out a computerised hazard perception task, and completed self-report questionnaires to assess attitudes to risky driving and driver confidence. In terms of on road driving, the participants who received higher-order driving skill training showed a statistically significant improvement in relation to visual search and the composite driving measure. This was accompanied by an improvement in hazard perception, safer attitudes to close following and to dangerous overtaking and a decrease in driving related confidence. The participants who received vehicle handling skill training showed significant improvements in relation to their on-road direction control, speed choice and the composite driving score. However, this group showed no improvement in hazard perception, attitudes to risky driving or driver confidence. The findings will be discussed in the context of driver training as a viable crash prevention intervention in regard to young, inexperienced drivers.     

"Teaching them a lesson?" A qualitative exploration of underlying motivations for driver aggression

Aggressive driving is increasingly a concern for drivers in highly motorised countries. However, the role of driver intent in this behaviour is problematic and there is little research on driver cognitions in relation to aggressive driving incidents. In addition, while drivers who admit to behaving aggressively on the road also frequently report being recipients of similar behaviours, little is known about the relationship between perpetration and victimisation or about how road incidents escalate into the more serious events that feature in capture media attention. The current study used qualitative interviews to explore driver cognitions and underlying motivations for aggressive behaviours on the road. A total of 30 drivers aged 18–49 years were interviewed about their experiences with aggressive driving. A key theme identified in responses was driver aggression as an attempt to manage or modify the behaviour of other road users. Two subthemes were identified and appeared related to separate motivations for aggressive responses: ‘teaching them a lesson’ referred to situations where respondents intended to convey criticism or disapproval, usually of unintended behaviours by the other driver, and thus encourage self-correction; and ‘justified retaliation’ which referred to situations where respondents perceived deliberate intent on the part of the other driver and responded aggressively in return. Mildly aggressive driver behaviour appears to be common. Moreover such behaviour has a sufficiently negative impact on other drivers that it may be worth addressing because of its potential for triggering retaliation in kind or escalation of aggression, thus compromising safety.     

Re-conceptualising the reckless driving behaviour of young drivers

Reckless driving is a major contributing factor to road morbidity and mortality. While further research into the nature and impact of reckless driving, particularly among young people, is urgently needed, the measurement of reckless driving behaviour also requires increased attention. Three major shortcomings apparent in established measures of driver behaviour are that they do not target the full range of reckless driving behaviours, they measure characteristics other than driving behaviours, and/or they fail to categorise and label reckless driver behaviour based on characteristics of the behaviours themselves. To combat these shortcomings, this paper reports the development and preliminary validation of a new measure of reckless driving behaviour for young drivers. Exploratory factor analysis of self-reported driving data revealed four, conceptually distinct categories of reckless driving behaviour: those that increase crash-risk due to (a) distractions or deficits in perception, attention or reaction time (labelled “distracted”), (b) driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (labelled “substance-use”), (c) placing the vehicle in an unsafe environment beyond its design expectations (labelled “extreme”), and (d) speed and positioning of the vehicle relative to other vehicles and objects (labelled “positioning”). Confirmatory factor analysis of data collected from a separate, community sample confirmed this four-factor structure. Multiple regression analyses found differences in the demographic and psychological variables related to these four factors, suggesting that interventions in one reckless driving domain may not be helpful in others.     

Cognitive failures as predictors of driving errors, lapses, and violations

Dual-process models from the cognitive literature have proposed a taxonomy of cognitive failures in everyday activities, and this novel approach was applied to understanding driver behaviour. This framework was used to examine whether categories of cognitive failure would explain driving errors, driving lapses, and driving violations in a sample of undergraduates at a large urban university. Two types of cognitive failure were examined, one associated with missing affective information and the other associated with a failure to engage effortful processes to override an automatic response. Alexithymia was used as an indicator of missing affective information, and attention regulation, reactivity, and impulsivity were used as indicators of override failure. Relevant demographic variables included gender and hours typically driven. Override failures were significantly associated with driving behaviour in the correlational analyses. In the regression analyses, attention regulation predicted driving errors, and gender, attention regulation, and impulsivity predicted driving violations. The implications of this work include the potential application to driver training, to users of informatics devices (e.g., GPS, cellular phones, messaging systems), and for individuals diagnosed with attention and/or impulsivity problems.     

Self-reported and observed risky driving behaviors among frequent and infrequent cell phone users

The apparently higher crash risk among individuals who use cell phones while driving may be due both to the direct interference of cell phone use with the driving task and tendencies to engage in risky driving behaviors independent of cell phone use. Measurements of actual highway driving performance, self-reported aberrant driving behaviors as measured by the Manchester Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ), and attitudes toward speeding, passing behaviors and relative concern about being involved in a crash were assessed. Individuals who reported frequently using cell phones while driving were found to drive faster, change lanes more frequently, spend more time in the left lane, and engage in more instances of hard braking and high acceleration events. They also scored higher in self-reported driving violations on the DBQ and reported more positive attitudes toward speeding and passing than drivers who did not report using a cell phone regularly while driving. These results indicate that a greater reported frequency of cell phone use while driving is associated with a broader pattern of behaviors that are likely to increase the overall risk of crash involvement.