Abstract
In Germany, offenders with severe or repeated violations of traffic rules are required to pass a Medical-Psychological Assessment (MPA) to regain their driving licence. The most common offence is speeding. The present research analysed 104 MPA files from speeding offenders in order to determine whether delinquency-related variables or characteristics of the driver's behaviour change process predicts the MPA outcome (positive or negative relapse risk). The results show that characteristics of the offences themselves (e.g. the number of speed violations) do not serve as valid predictors. However, whether the offenders had voluntarily participated in a driver improvement program prior to the MPA did predict the MPA outcome. Moreover, the most suitable predictors were problem awareness and self-criticism demonstrated in the psychological assessment. Furthermore, the results underpin the suitability and utility of the MPA as a measure to evaluate relapse risks. Keywords: speeding; repeat offender; Medical-Psychological Assessment, MPA; relapse risk
Highlights
AND LITERATURE REVIEWSpeeding is a serious, yet common offence, often related to mobility in a stressful modern world or a driver’s pleasure seeking behaviour (Berry, Johnson & Porter, 2011; Shinar, 2017)
We use the term speeding to refer to the act of driving faster than the applicable speed limit and the term speedaffine drivers to refer to a specific group of drivers who have a strong tendency towards speeding, which is motivated by personality dispositions (Berry et al, 2011; Wagner, Keller & Jäncke, 2018)
The characteristics of the speeding offences do not correlate among each other, except for a negative correlation between km/h above the speed limit and number of non-speeding offences, as well as a positive correlation between number of speeding offences and km/h above the speed limit. This was expected, since km/h above speed limit was computed as a sum score, meaning more speeding offences result in a higher km/h number
Summary
Speeding is a serious, yet common offence, often related to mobility in a stressful modern world or a driver’s pleasure seeking behaviour (Berry, Johnson & Porter, 2011; Shinar, 2017). An Australian study demonstrated that speeding can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol, with the increase in speed akin to an increase in blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Speeding at 5 km/h above the speed limit of 65 km/h is comparable to driving under the influence of alcohol with a BAC of 0.5 %. Exceeding the speed limit by 10 km/h is associated with the related accident risk as driving with a BAC of 0.8 % (Kloeden, McLean, Moore & Ponte, 1997). Aside from this, speeding has a negative impact on the environment because of air and noise pollution
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