Instrumental and normative motives for compliance with traffic laws among young and older drivers

Abstract

The study compares young and older drivers' motives for compliance with traffic laws. Instrumental motives, such as perceived danger of violations, and normative motives, such as a sense of obligation to obey the law, were explored. A questionnaire was administered to 693 male drivers in the Israeli army. The results support previous findings, showing that young drivers' motives for compliance with traffic laws, both instrumental and normative, are weaker than those of older drivers. The differences between the two age groups are larger with regard to normative than to instrumental motives. The commission of traffic violations by young drivers is predicted by the normative motives of a sense of obligation to obey traffic laws and perceived fairness of punishment. The commission of driving violation by older drivers is predicted by the instrumental motive of perceived danger of violations. The differences between young and older drivers' motives are discussed.