Opportunity, motivation and bus drivers’ intention to commit traffic violations

Abstract

The study aims to examine the predictors of speeding and red-light violations among professional bus drivers of rapid transit system. Theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used to explore how drivers' intention to violate traffic norms are associated with their observed violation obtained using their naturalistic driving and observer-based data. The study also incorporates opportunity (lack of enforcement) and motivation (schedule adherence pressure, personal time pressure, sensation seeking) factors into the TPB framework. The drivers are classified into low and high intention groups, using K-means clustering based on their intention to commit violations. The results indicate that intentions are positively associated with observed speeding and red-light violations for both low and high intention groups. Drivers' intention to commit traffic violation are found to be determined by their belief toward the behavior (attitude), their belief about how often other road users are committing these behaviors (descriptive norms) and their perception about their capability to perform these behavior (perceived behavioral control). The findings also reveal that the existing association between intention and observed violation is strengthened when there exist higher opportunity and motivation to carry out these behaviors. Based on the findings, study suggests various interventions aimed towards reducing violations among professional bus drivers.