Abstract
Many car drivers in Malaysia, especially young drivers, ignore the importance of wearing seat belts. This questionnaire study employed an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) by including habit as a new construct to explain the factors influencing the behavioural intention and expectation of young Malaysian drivers to use seat belts. A total of 398 young drivers from the state of Selangor in Malaysia participated in this study. Analyses used a covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) approach. The results showed that the variance, which indicates the intention of young Malaysian drivers to use seat belts (R2 = 0.76), is influenced by drivers’ habits and three basic constructs of the TPB (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control). The basic TPB constructs have a direct and positive impact on the intention of young Malaysian drivers to use seat belts. Drivers’ habits have a positive and direct influence on their intention to use seat belts, and an indirect influence via the attitude and perceived behaviour control constructs. Drivers’ habits do not influence subjective norms. The authors recommend implementing effective measures to encourage Malaysian drivers to use seat belts and ensure sustainable traffic safety.
Highlights
Continuous urbanisation brings with it the need for different forms of transportation for commuting
The Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) result showed that five factors in the original items, namely, habit, attitude, behavioural intention, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, had eigenvalues greater than 1; the result explained the 68.036% of the total variance
This research extended the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to include a measure of habit to determine the factors that enhance the sustainable behavioural intention of seat belt use among young Malaysian drivers
Summary
Continuous urbanisation brings with it the need for different forms of transportation for commuting. Among the proposed method for reducing the number of accident-related deaths, the most effective measure is encouraging seat belt use to reinforce sustainable driver behaviour. This measure focusses on vehicle safety measures to reduce the risk of fatality and enhance sustainable traffic safety [13,14,15,16,17]. Given the limitations of previous studies, a specific model is needed to explore the factors influencing the intention of young Malaysian drivers to use seat belts. This study seeks to bridge the gap and investigate the factors influencing the sustainable behavioural intentions of young Malaysian drivers to use seat belts by extending the TPB to include habit as a new construct.
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