Driver Skill Inventory Research Articles

Behind the wheel: Probing into personality, skills, and driving behavior’s role in bus rapid transit crashes

Objective Personality traits and driving skills are significantly associated with driving behaviors and crashes. In the case of professional bus drivers, the relationships amongst these variables have not been sufficiently examined in terms of road crashes. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the relationship between personality traits, driving skills, driving behaviors, and crash involvement among Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) drivers. Methods The study employed a comprehensive data collection strategy involving self-reported questionnaires, including the driver behavior questionnaire, driver skill inventory, and Big Five inventory, alongside Global Positioning System (GPS)-extracted speeding data from a sample of 166 drivers. To explore the relationship between variables, the study utilized the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) as the analytical method. Result The findings reveal that self-reported violations and actual speeding performed by drivers were positively associated with crash involvement, whereas positive driving behavior negatively influences violation, errors, speeding and crash involvement. The study also found that the safety skills were negatively associated with violations, errors, and speeding, while higher perceptual-motor skills were associated with higher instances of speeding violations, resulting to a higher possibility of getting involved in a crash. Finally, the study reveals that certain personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism) were positively associated with violations, errors, and speeding, leading to a higher risk of getting involved in crashes, whereas certain personality traits (conscientiousness and agreeableness) were associated with safe driving. Conclusion The study findings offer valuable insights into the predictors of crashes among professional BRT drivers, which can be used to enhance driving practices, ensuring the safety of the public. Moreover, these findings provide transportation agencies with better management and decision-making capabilities to implement effective interventions to improve road safety.

The Role of Sex in Evaluating Other Male and Female Drivers’ Driving Skills and Behavior

Countries with wider gender gap might host sex-based stereotypical evaluations, which might be present from the early ages and persist. It might also hinder the stereotyped groups’ performance on the stereotyped field, such as driving (Granié and Papafava, 2011; Moè, Cadinu, & Maass, 2015; Steele & Aronson, 1995). Although the effect of sex and gender roles in self-evaluated driving skills and behaviors are studied, the possible effect of sex in evaluating other male and female drivers in their driving skills and behaviors was not a topic of interest in road safety studies. Thus, the aim of the current study was to investigate whether sex of the participants was a significant factor in evaluating other male and female drivers’ driving skills and behavior. 92 Female and 70 male drivers participated in the study. Participants were asked to fill forms of Driver Skill Inventory (DSI) and Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) to assess driving skills and behaviors of other male and female drivers. The results indicated significant differences between male and female participants in evaluations of other female drivers’ perceptual-motor skills, safety skills, and driving errors. In line with the literature, female drivers were endorsed for their safety skills, and male participants were endorsed for their perceptual motor skills. Similarly, female drivers received higher mean values for lapses and male drivers received higher mean values for errors, aggressive violations, and ordinary violations. Results are important in raising awareness regarding sex-based stereotypical evaluations of drivers, especially towards female drivers, in Turkey.

PERCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL AND UNPROFESSIONAL DRIVERS ABOUT THEIR OWN BEHAVIOURS AND SKILLS

According to Social Identity Theory people tend to be positive for members of group to which they feel as belonging and to be negative for members of group to which they do not feel as belonging. Such perception bias is thought to be exist among different group of drivers in traffic, as well. In this context, this study aims to investigate professional (like taxi drivers) and unprofessional (private car users) drivers’ driver skills, safety concerns and risk-taking behaviors and together with researching perception of each group of drivers toward the other. 40 unprofessional and 39 professional drivers participated in the study. After each participant assessed himself/herself through Driver Skill Inventory (DSI) and risk-taking behavior scale, s/he also evaluated members of the other group of drivers through these scales. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant differences between the two groups. Specifically, it was found that professional drivers state their driver skills and safety concerns higher and their risk-taking behaviors lower than unprofessional drivers in traffic. Moreover, each group’s self-assessment scores with regard to driving skills, safety concerns and risk-taking behaviors are generally in line with the other group’s perception of that group on these variables.

Automation Preferences by Traffic Climate and Driver Skills in Two Samples From Countries with Different Levels of Traffic Safety

Automated systems present great capabilities with a wide range of options. In this respect, vehicle preferences and factors affecting these preferences are important for the future of automated systems. While automated systems offer varied features and improvements for drivers and general traffic safety, the relationship between drivers’ perceptions of traffic systems and driver skills have not been studied. The present study, therefore, focuses on country differences and the relationships between traffic climate and driver skills and their impact on the preferred level of vehicle automation for drivers in Turkey and Sweden. The study was conducted with 318 drivers (age: mean [M] = 22.41, standard deviation [SD] = 2.77) from Turkey and 312 drivers (age: M = 28.80, SD = 8.53) from Sweden in 2020. A questionnaire package asking for demographic information and preferred levels of vehicle automation—Traffic Climate Scale (TCS) and the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI)—was completed. A series of analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), hierarchical regression, and moderated moderation analyses were conducted. Drivers from Turkey preferred higher automation levels than drivers from Sweden. Drivers with higher perceived safety skills, with lower perceived perceptual-motor skills or perceiving the traffic system as more externally demanding preferred higher automation levels. Drivers’ automation preferences were affected by various individual and country-level factors. For the first time, drivers’ automation preferences were elaborated in relation to traffic climate and driver skills in two countries with different levels of traffic safety. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed in the light of the literature.

Born to Be a Risky Driver? The Relationship Between Cloninger's Temperament and Character Traits and Risky Driving.

Temperament refers to basic, largely inherited, relatively stable personality traits which have been present since early childhood. Considering the very fundamental role of temperament in human development and behaviour, it is reasonable to assume that temperament is also related to risky driving and drivers’ view of themselves as drivers. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between Cloninger’s temperament dimensions, risky driving and drivers’ view of their perceptual motor and safety skills. The sample consisted of 335 Turkish drivers (aged 19–57; 53.7% men) who completed an Internet-based survey including Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and Driver Skill Inventory (DSI). Correlation analyses showed that TCI scale Cooperativeness correlated negatively with all DBQ scales indicating risky driving and positively with safety skills. In regression analyses after controlling age, gender and lifetime mileage, cooperativeness still was significantly related to all DBQ scales and safety skills. Persistence correlated negatively with ordinary violations, lapses and errors and positively with perceptual motor skills. In regression analyses, persistence was related to errors and lapses. Reward dependence was positively related to lapses and harm avoidance negatively to perceptual motor skills. The results of the present study indicate that largely innate temperament character traits may influence an individual’s predisposition to risky driving. Future studies about temperament and risky driving with larger samples allowing sub-group analyses are needed.

Self-Assessed Driving Skills and Risky Driver Behaviour Among Young Drivers: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The first few years of driving is a critical period when driving skills develop and the driving style is established. While the actual driving skills improve during the first few years of driving, a novice driver’s view of himself/herself as a safe and/or skilful driver also develops rapidly. The aim of this study was to investigate self-evaluated driver safety and perceptual-motor skills among different age groups of young drivers, along with the relationships between self-evaluated skills and driving behaviour. The sample consisted of a stratified random sample of 18–25-year-old drivers from the Finnish driving licence register. The questionnaires, which included the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI), Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and background information, were completed and returned by a total of 1,058 participants. While female drivers assessed their safety skills to be higher than their perceptual-motor skills, the opposite was true for males. In both sexes, perceptual-motor skills increased, and safety skills decreased with experience. Perceptual-motor skills correlated negatively with safety skills, lapses and errors, but positively with aggressive and ordinary violations. Safety skills correlated negatively with all DBQ variables. Safety orientation seems to be most clearly reflected in deliberate aberrant driving behaviours. Sex differences were observed in the development of behaviours and skills, perceptual-motor skills only increased with age among males, while safety skills decreased through experience among both men and women. Results showed that driving experience was strongly related to both driving style (violations, errors) and the drivers’ view of their skills (safety orientation), highlighting the importance of the first few years of driving.

Driver social desirability scale: A Turkish adaptation and examination in the driving context

Self-report data collection methods are widely used techniques to gather information in studies related to road safety. One of the most considerable limitations of self-reports is social desirability bias. One way to overcome the possible detrimental effects of socially desirable responding is to control it by using social desirability scales. With respect to that, the present study aims to adapt the Driver Social Desirability Scale into Turkish, examine its construct validity, and investigate the relationship between social desirability and driving-related measures. A total of 351 drivers between the ages of 19 and 59 completed a questionnaire including a demographic information form, the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ), the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI), the Two-Dimensional Social Desirability Scale (SDS), and the Driver Social Desirability Scale (DSDS). Factor analysis supported the two-factor structure of the DSDS in the Turkish sample. Social desirability correlated positively with age and driving experience. Female drivers reported higher levels of driver impression management, while male drivers scored higher on self-deception. Driver impression management was associated negatively with violations and perceptual-motor skills and positively with safety skills. Lastly, driver self-deception was positively related to violations, positive driver behaviors, perceptual-motor skills, and safety skills. The study shows that the Turkish version of the DSDS is a reliable and structurally valid instrument with incremental validity compared to the general social desirability measure in predicting driving-related outcomes.

Drivers’ Risk Perception and Risky Driving Behavior under Low Illumination Conditions: Modified Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) and Driver Skill Inventory (DSI)

Most road crashes are caused by human factors. Risky behaviors and lack of driving skills are two human factors that contribute to crashes. Considering the existing evidence, risky driving behaviors and driving skills have been regarded as potential decisive factors explaining and preventing crashes. Nighttime accidents are relatively frequent and serious compared with daytime accidents. Therefore, it is important to focus on driving behaviors and skills to reduce traffic accidents and enhance safe driving in low illumination conditions. In this paper, we examined the relation between drivers’ risk perception and propensity for risky driving behavior and conducted a comparative analysis of the associations between risk perception, propensity for risky driving behavior, and other factors in the presence and absence of streetlights. Participants in Hefei city, China, were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire, the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ), and the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI). Multiple linear regression analyses identified some predictors of driver behavior. The results indicated that both the DBQ and DSI are valuable instruments in traffic safety analysis in low illumination conditions and indicated that errors, lapses, and risk perception were significantly different between with and without streetlight conditions. Pearson’s correlation test found that elderly and experienced drivers had a lower likelihood of risky driving behaviors when driving in low illumination conditions, and crash involvement was positively related to risky driving behaviors. Regarding the relationship between study variables and driving skills, the research suggested that age, driving experience, and annual distance were positively associated with driving skills, while myopia, penalty points, and driving self-assessment were negatively related to driving skills. Furthermore, the differences across age groups in errors, lapses, violations, and risk perception in the presence of streetlights were remarkable, and the driving performance of drivers aged 45–55 years was superior to that of drivers in other age groups. Finally, multiple linear regression analyses showed that education background and crash involvement had a positive influence on error, whereas risk perception had a negative effect on errors; crash involvement had a positive influence, while risk perception had a negative effect on lapse; driving experience and crash involvement had a positive influence on violation; and age had a negative influence on it.

Clustering Analysis of Drivers Based on Behavioral Characteristics Regarding Road Safety

The present study was aimed at identifying driving behaviors and driving skills (i.e., ordinary violations, lack of experience errors, positive behaviors, lack of attention errors, dangerous errors, aggressive violations, perceptual-motor skills, and safety skills) in a large sample of young, middle-aged, and elderly tourists as specific subgroups of drivers based on combinations. Additionally, drivers’ risk-driving behaviors and skill deficits in terms of driving violations and errors, and traffic rule violations and accident involvements as measured by the Driver Behavior Questionnaire and the Driver Skill Inventory were evaluated. To this end, the questionnaires were completed by 681 participant drivers with three age subgroups (age 40), who had traveled to Baneh city in Iran. Based on a cluster analysis of driving behaviors and driving skills variables, five easily understandable drivers’ subgroups were investigated as safe drivers with low self-confidence, unsafe, and offensive drivers, safe, and skillful drivers, unsafe, and relatively unskilled drivers, and unskilled and relatively unsafe drivers. The drivers differed in terms of self-reported accident involvement, attitudes toward traffic safety and risk perception, and driving violations and errors. Finally, based on annual intentional and unintentional accidents and fines, the clusters were ranked. Then, the clusters were evaluated and analyzed statistically. The results indicated that unsafe and offensive cluster is the first unsafe subgroup among clusters. Safe and skillful cluster is classified as the safest subgroup among clusters.

An assessment of the relationship between driving skills and driving behaviors among Chinese bus drivers

To provide helpful suggestions to bus companies regarding reducing the number of bus accidents and improving public transportation safety, we further researched the relationship between driving skills and driving behaviors; bus drivers from six bus companies of the Hefei Bus Group were investigated. The reliability and validity of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, the Driver Skill Inventory, and 287 valid questionnaires were tested; the relationships between the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire and Driver Skill Inventory factors were explored; and their influence on traffic accidents was analyzed by structural equation modeling. Significant positive associations were found between driving experience and safety motive, whereas negative relationships were found between errors and safety motive. Safety motive has a negative effect on violations, and violations are the most important factor leading to traffic accidents. Therefore, bus companies should enhance safety education, and interventions should not only directly relate to the involvement of bus drivers in traffic accidents but also consider the role played by violations.

Interactions between Driving Skills on Aggressive Driving: Study among Chinese Drivers

Aggressive driving has attracted significant attention recently with the increase in related road traffic collisions occurring in China. This study aims to investigate the effect of driving skills on aggressive driving behaviors and traffic accidents to find implications for traffic safety improvement in China. A total of 735 Chinese drivers were recruited to complete a self-reported survey including demographic information, the translated Driver Skill Inventory (DSI), and Driver Aggression Indicator Scale (DAIS). Exploratory factor analysis was first conducted to investigate the factor structures of DSI and DAIS among Chinese drivers. Unlike the two-factor solution (i.e., perceptual-motor and safety skills) found in other studies, the current study result revealed a three-factor solution (i.e., perceptual-motor, safety, and emotional control skills) of DSI. Then, the interaction between DSI factors on DAIS factors, demographic variables, and the number of self-reported traffic accidents and offenses was tested by using moderated regression methods. The results revealed the interaction between perceptual-motor skills and safety skills on aggressive warnings committed by drivers themselves. The interactive effect between safety skills and emotional control skills on perceived aggressive warnings was also found. The results suggested that higher ratings of safety skills are essential for buffering the effect of high-level perceptual-motor skills and emotional control skills on aggressive driving in China. In conclusion, policy makers should be interested in understanding the effect of Chinese drivers’ skills on the aggression drivers committed and conceived in traffic. Successful intervention strategies should include all skill factors in the driver training contents.

The relationship between driving skill and driving behavior: Psychometric adaptation of the Driver Skill Inventory in China

Most road accidents are caused by human factors alone or in combination with other factors. Deficits in driving skill are a human factor that contributes to accidents. It is important to focus on driving skills to reduce traffic accidents and enhance safe driving. In this study, we adopted a Chinese version of the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI) and explored its correlation with driving behaviors, sociodemographic factors and personality. A total of 295 licensed drivers voluntarily completed a survey that covered the DSI, the Driver Behavior Questionnaire, the Positive Driver Behavior Scale, self-reported traffic accidents, penalty points and fines, the Big Five Inventory, and sociodemographic parameters. First, the results of principal axis analysis on the DSI yielded two clear factors: perceptual-motor skills and safety skills. Second, both perceptual-motor skills and safety skills were positively correlated with positive behaviors. Safety skills were negatively correlated with all aberrant driving behaviors (e.g., aggressive violations, ordinary violations, errors, and lapses), whereas perceptual-motor skills were negatively correlated with errors and lapses. Third, with regard to penalties, safety skills were negatively associated with penalty fines and points received within the past year, whereas perceptual-motor skills showed no such correlation. Fourth, with regard to sociodemographic parameters, perceptual-motor skills were positively correlated with years of holding a driving license, weekly driving distance and annual driving distance. Men reported higher perceptual-motor skills than women, whereas safety skills were unrelated to gender. Fifth, structural equation modeling was conducted to test the effects of personality traits on driving skill. The results showed that conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience were significant predictors of perceptual-motor skills, whereas agreeableness and conscientiousness were significant predictors of safety skills. Overall, based on these results, the Chinese version of the DSI has acceptable internal consistency and a stable structure; thus, it represents a useful tool to measure driving skill. Moreover, the measurement of personality traits, which are important individual factors closely linked to driving skill, can aid in the education of professional drivers or to inform preventative and educational activities that focus on personality traits in addition to knowledge.

The fitness-to-drive of shift-work taxi drivers with obstructive sleep apnea: An investigation of self-reported driver behavior and skill

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different work shift types and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risks on taxi drivers’ driving behavior and driving skill. A total of 178 male professional taxi drivers participated in the study. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that included demographic information, the STOP-Bang questionnaire, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) and the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI). Factor analyses of the DBQ and DSI resulted in four-factor and three-factor solutions, respectively. The factors of the DBQ included ‘aggression’, ‘violations’, ‘lack of concentration’ and ‘memory lapse’. The factors of the DSI were ‘safety consciousness’, ‘technical driving skill’ and ‘risk perception’. To test the differences and interaction effects of shift types and OSA on the behaviors and skills of taxi drivers, Bivariate correlation analysis and Analyses of Covariance were conducted. According to the results, the impacts of OSA on taxi drivers’ daily driving behaviors were concentrated in two areas: memory lapse and risk perception. Moreover, the driving skills of OSA high-risk drivers were generally worse than OSA low-risk drivers. Among day shift drivers, OSA significantly affected memory lapse and risk perception in daily driving processes, and drivers with high OSA risk exhibited more aggressive driving than drivers with low OSA risk. Moreover, among night shift drivers, OSA high-risk drivers presented fewer aggressive driving behaviors and more episodes of decreased concentration than their low OSA risk counterparts.

Validation of the German version of the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI) and the Driver Social Desirability Scales (DSDS)

The psychometric properties of the new German versions of the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI) and the Driver Social Desirability Scales (DSDS) were examined. The DSI is a self-report measure assessing perceptual-motor skills and the safety motive as two important aspects of driving behavior. Self-report measures, however, are susceptible to socially desirable responding (SDR) which is why both general and specific driving-related SDR scales have been developed: Based on the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR), the DSDS taps Driver Impression Management and Driver Self-Deception as two important aspects of SDR. In two validation studies with less experienced (N=130) and experienced drivers (N=1199), both inventories showed the expected two-factor structure and satisfactory internal consistency. In Study 1, self-ratings were compared with and confirmed by peer-ratings. In both studies, we accumulated evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the German version of the DSI by correlating it with demographic, driving-specific, and personality measures, including the Big Five, Type A behavior, and sensation seeking. The DSI seemed to be only marginally contaminated by SDR.

How indicative is a self-reported driving behaviour profile of police registered traffic law offences?

Although most motorised countries have experienced massive improvements in road safety over the last decades, human behaviour and differences in accident risk across sub-groups of drivers remains a key issue in the area of road safety. The identification of risk groups requires the identification of reliable predictors of safe or unsafe driving behaviour. Given this background, the aim of this study was to test whether driver sub-groups identified based on self-reported driving behaviour and skill differed in registered traffic law offences and accidents, and whether group membership was predictive of having traffic law offences. Sub-groups of drivers were identified based on the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI), while traffic offences and accidents were register-based (Statistics Denmark). The participants (N=3683) were aged 18–84 years and randomly selected from the Danish Driving License Register. Results show that the driver sub-groups differed significantly in registered traffic offences but not in registered accidents. In a logistic regression analysis, the sub-group “Violating unsafe drivers” was found predictive of having a traffic offence, even when socio-demographic variables and exposure were controlled for. The most important predictive factor, however, was having a criminal record for non-traffic offences, while gender, living without a partner, and being self-employed also had a significant effect. The study confirms the use of the DBQ and DSI as suitable instruments for predicting traffic offences while also confirming previous results on accumulation of problematic behaviours across life contexts. The finding that driver sub-groups did not differ in registered accidents supports the recent research activities in finding and modelling surrogate safety measures.

Assessing the relationship between the Driver Behavior Questionnaire and the Driver Skill Inventory: Revealing sub-groups of drivers

The Driver Behavior Questionnaire and the Driver Skill Inventory are two of the most frequently used measures of self-reported driving style and driving skill. The motivation behind the present study was to identify sub-groups of drivers that potentially act dangerously in traffic (as measured by frequency of aberrant driving behaviors and level of driving skills), as well as to test whether the sub-groups differ in characteristics such as age, gender, annual mileage and accident involvement. Furthermore, the joint analysis of the two instruments was used to test drivers’ assessment of their own self-reported driving skills and whether the reported skill level was reflected in the reported aberrant driving behaviors. 3908 drivers aged 18–84 participated in the survey. K-means cluster analysis revealed four distinct sub-groups that differed in driving skills and frequency of aberrant driving behavior. The sub-groups also differed in individual characteristics and driving related factors such as annual mileage, accident frequency and number of tickets and fines. The differences between the sub-groups suggest heterogeneity across the population, and since two of the sub-groups reported higher frequency of driving aberrations and lower skill level, they seem more unsafe than the two others. The results suggest that drivers’ assessment of their driving skills is reflected in their aberrant driving behaviors, as drivers who report low levels of driving skills, also report high frequency of aberrant driving behaviors, and vice versa. The present findings highlight the need to look into driver’s attitudes towards safety, and to devise differential interventions targeting specific problematic groups of the population in the attempt to improve road safety nationwide.

The relationship between four-wheel drives and risky driving behaviours

BACKGROUND: Given the increased number of four wheel drive (4WD) vehicles in Qatar and their involvement in crashes, casualties and road fatalities, it is important to understand the association between risky driving behavior and 4WD crashes. Aim/Objective: This study aimed to determine the association between risky driving behaviours and 4WD vehicles and its impact on road traffic accidents in the State of Qatar. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional survey was conducted using a multistage stratified cluster sampling technique to recruit 1824 drivers of two wheel drive (small cars) and 4WD across different primary health centres (PHCs) in Qatar. The Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and Driver Skill Inventory (DSI) were used to collect the data. Information regarding socio-demographic and road traffic crashes during last three years was also obtained. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: 762 (41.8%) owned 4WD vehicles. Drivers of 4WD were significantly higher between 30-50 years age (P CONCLUSION: The drivers of 4WD cars are at higher risk of crashes as compared to the drivers of small cars. Also, they have significantly more traffic violations, lapses, and errors. Future interventions and control measures should target the drivers of 4WD for better results. Language: en

Study of Characteristics of Phone Distraction on Drivers and its Influence on Traffic Safety Operation

In order to study on the characteristics of phone distraction of drivers and its effect on traffic safety and traffic flow. Driver Behavior Questionnaire and Driver Skill Inventory surveys of 139 drivers were conducted combined with the basic situation of China, the SPSS software was used to analyze the processing of the survey results. The study found that the phone distraction will reduce drivers recognition ability of emergency event and driving performance, prolonging the reaction time of driver, it also has certain influence on lane changing behavior and safety following distance. In view of the problems existing in the research, four advices of driving training, publicity of legislation, punishment and technology were put forward.

Cross-cultural comparison of driving skills among students in four different countries

The first aim of the present study was to increase our knowledge of cultural differences in self-reported perceptual-motor skills and safety skills. The second aim was to examine the relationship between self-reported perceptual-motor skills, safety skills and accident involvement in four different countries. A sample of Finnish (N=200), Swedish (N=200), Greek (N=200) and Turkish (N=200) drivers completed a questionnaire based on the driver skill inventory (DSI) and reported their accident involvement during the previous 3years. The results showed that Greek and Turkish drivers reported higher yearly accident involvement than did Swedish and Finnish drivers. Greek, Turkish and Swedish drivers reported stronger perceptual-motor skills than did Finnish drivers; while Greek, Turkish and Finnish drivers reported stronger safety skills than did Swedish drivers. This suggests that the country differences in self-reported perceptual-motor skills and safety skills do not reflect the differences in accident statistics on a country level. Moreover, self-reported safety skills were negatively related to self-reported yearly accident involvement in all four countries taken together as well as in Greece and Turkey taken separately. This suggests that differences in drivers’ accident involvement are associated with their self-reported safety skills.

650 – The psychological distress and aggressive driving: age and gender differences in voluntary risk-taking behavior in road traffic crashes

Aim To examine the effect of age, gender and psychological distress on driver behaviour and accident involvement and also to examine the differences in driving skills, driver behaviour and performance and its effects on Road Traffic Crashes [RTCs] in Qatar. Methods This is a cross-sectional and representative of 1824 drivers participated in this survey using socio-demographic information, Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ), and Driver Skill Inventory(DSI). Results Mean age was 36.5 years for males, and 36.8 for females (p= 0.013). There was a significant difference between males and females regarding education level (p= 0.013). Significantly higher proportion of males (62% vs. 57%; p 0.035) having 4WD. More than half of females were using mobile phones during driving (51% vs. 39%; p Conclusion Age, gender and use of seat belt, and talking on mobile were main predictors for motor crashes and injuries. The challenge for public health is to modify risk-taking behaviour in young males and females drivers to reduce dangerous driving practices.