National correlates of self-reported traffic violations across 41 countries

Abstract

Less developed countries are overrepresented in traffic accidents, but knowledge on national differences in aberrant driving behaviours is scarce. This study investigated relationships between traffic violations measured with a 7-item Driver Behaviour Questionnaire and traffic accident involvement for an international crowdsourced sample. At the level of respondents (N=6006), self-reported violations correlated moderately with self-reported accidents (Spearman ρ=.26). At the national level (N=41), self-reported non-speeding violations (a composite consisting of three types of aggressive violations, tailgating, and using a mobile phone without a hands-free kit) correlated strongly with road traffic death rate per population (ρ=.77) and with developmental status (ρ=−.79), whereas self-reported speeding violations (a composite of speeding on a motorway and on a residential road) did not (ρ=−.08 and .22, respectively). Moreover, self-reported non-speeding violations correlated strongly with mean annual temperature (ρ=.58), while self-reported speeding violations did not (ρ=−.16). These cross-national correlates of traffic violations can be explained by developmental factors that lead to violation-provoking traffic situations or by the effect of temperature on aggression.