SUV driving "masculinizes" risk behavior in females: apublic health challenge.

Peter Wallner,Anna Wanka,Hans-Peter Hutter

doi:10.1007/s00508-017-1219-6

Peter Wallner, Anna Wanka + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-017-1219-6

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Abstract

SummaryInvolvement of sport utility vehicles (SUV) in accidents especially with children is of increasing importance. Studies have indicated a more risky behavior in SUV drivers. We conducted an observational study focusing on traffic violations, car type, and the gender of the driver in Vienna. The study was conducted on five weekdays at the beginning of school term. Three busy intersections were selected.Drivers of 43,168 normal cars and 5653 SUVs were counted at the intersections during the observation period. In total 13.8% drivers were unbelted, 3.1% were using a handheld mobile phone, and 2.5% violated traffic lights. These frequencies were significantly higher in SUV drivers than in normal passenger car drivers. This “SUV effect” also occurred in women for all violations, although male drivers violated traffic laws more often than female drivers. However, for driving unbelted the difference between males and females was smaller in SUV drivers.

Highlights

Human behavioral factors including use of a handheld mobile telephone while driving and not using seat belts increase risk of car accidents or severity of crash injuries [1,2,3]
We counted 48,821 vehicles, of which 11.6% (n = 5653) were sport utility vehicles (SUV). This amounts to 1085 eligible vehicles, including 126 SUVs, per hour
The fraction of SUV drivers according to gender was similar (11.3% for females and 11.7% for males)

Summary

Introduction

Human behavioral factors including use of a handheld mobile telephone while driving and not using seat belts increase risk of car accidents or severity of crash injuries [1,2,3]. Despite legal regulations including sanctions, noncompliance is high [4, 5]. A. Wanka Institute of Sociology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Wanka Institute of Sociology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria These habits have been linked to situational, legal, social, and personality factors [6, 7]. Gender differences in aggression, risk-taking driving behavior, and noncompliance with regulations have been reported [8, 9]. Skaar and Williams [13] found that females characterized as busy, fast paced, and of high energy incurred more traffic violations, indicating that male-assigned attributes increase noncompliance

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