Abstract
The current study is the first to investigate the contribution of compensatory beliefs (i.e., the belief that the negative effects of an unsafe behavior can be "neutralized" by engaging in another safe behavior; e.g., "I can use a mobile phone now because I will slow down ") on drivers’ mobile phone use while driving. The effects of drivers’ personal characteristics on compensatory beliefs, mobile phone use and self-regulatory behaviors were also examined. A series of questions were administered to drivers, which included (1) personal measures, (2) scales that measured compensatory beliefs generally in substance use and with regard to driving safety, and (3) questions to measure drivers’ previous primary mobile phone usage and corresponding self-regulatory actions. Overall, drivers reported a low likelihood of compensatory beliefs, prior mobile phone use, and a strong frequency of self-regulatory behaviors. Respondents who had a higher tendency toward compensatory beliefs reported more incidents or crash involvement caused by making or answering calls and sending or reading messages. The findings provide strong support for the contribution of compensatory beliefs in predicting mobile phone usage in the context of driving. Compensatory beliefs can explain 41% and 43% of the variance in the active activities of making calls and texting/sending messages compared with 18% and 31% of the variance in the passive activities of answering calls and reading messages. Among the regression models for predicting self-regulatory behaviors at the tactical or operational level, compensatory beliefs emerge as significant predictors only in predicting shorter conversations while on a call. The findings and limitations of the current study are discussed.
Highlights
Driver distraction can be defined as the diversion of attention away from activities critical for safe driving and toward a competing activity [1]
We extend the findings of studies on healthy and green compensatory beliefs to examine drivers’ distraction due to engagement in mobile phone uses
We used an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for differences in the average response scores for drivers’ compensatory beliefs, engagement in prior mobile use and its self-regulatory behaviors in driving contexts
Summary
Driver distraction can be defined as the diversion of attention away from activities critical for safe driving and toward a competing activity [1]. In 2014, among all road incidents in China (656.3 ten thousands), 47.2% were caused by mobile phone use when driving, which was the most distracting activity (The Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security of China, 2014). These statistics lead to a question: when a driver knows that using a mobile phone while driving is risky but needs to use a mobile phone while driving, how does the driver modulate his/her behavior ? Given the safety implications of mobile phone use while driving and the scarcity of studies focusing on drivers’ compensatory beliefs(e.g., general compensatory beliefs, such as “smoking can be compensated for by exercising”, and safe compensatory beliefs, such as “I can make a call because I will shorten the conversation while driving”), this study aimed to consider the contributions of drivers’ compensatory beliefs in exploring why people use mobile phones while driving and the corresponding self-regulatory actions
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