Road Safety Attitudes Research Articles

The Mediating Role of Traffic Safety Awareness on Road Safety Attitude and Behavior of Drivers

This research study aimed to determine the mediating role of traffic safety awareness on the relationship between road safety attitude and behavior of drivers. The researcher surveyed 378 licensed drivers selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The study utilized Mean, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, Medgraph using Sobel z-test and Regression. The study found a very high level of Traffic Safety Awareness, a moderate level of Driving behavior, and high Road Safety Attitudes among licensed drivers. A significant correlation was observed between road safety attitude and drivers’ behavior. There is also a high significance on the relationship between road safety attitude and traffic safety awareness, as well as between traffic safety awareness and drivers’ driving behavior. The mediation analysis examined the role of traffic safety awareness as a mediator in the relationship between road safety attitude and driver behavior. The results point towards partial mediation, where the mediator variable partially explains the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

Examining the effectiveness of an education-based road safety intervention and the design and delivery mechanisms that promote road safety in young people

BackgroundRoad traffic collisions (RTCs) are the leading cause of deaths for young people worldwide. Whilst educational interventions that adopt fear-based messaging are commonly used to improve road safety in young people, limited focus has been directed to examining how they are delivered. Accordingly, this mixed-method study aims to i) measure the effectiveness of a UK intervention called Safe Drive Stay Alive (SDSA) for improving road safety knowledge, attitudes and intentional behaviors, and ii) what design and delivery mechanisms are important for achieving this. MethodsIn study one, participants completed online questionnaires that measured road safety knowledge, attitudes, and behavioural intentions pre- (n = 1304) and post-intervention (n = 407), and two months later (n = 72). In study two, focus groups were conducted with 10 young people post-intervention to understand what mechanisms were important for promoting road safety. ResultsStatistical analysis of questionnaires showed that road safety knowledge, attitudes, and intentional behaviours significantly improved post-intervention. However, descriptive comparisons of the smaller number of two-month follow-up questionnaires indicated that ratings returned to pre-intervention levels. Thematic analysis of focus groups highlighted that having emotive, realistic, and relatable content was important for encouraging young people to attend to the message. However, more focus was needed on how to address peer pressure. ConclusionSDSA improves road safety knowledge, attitudes, and behavioural intentions. However, there are indications that benefits may be short lived, requiring ‘top up’ interventions. Whilst young people also perceive SDSA to be useful, engaging, and delivering an important message, support is needed for addressing peer pressure.

Road safety knowledge and attitudes among drivers

Introduction. Road traffic injuries are a significant issue for society in the twenty-first century, but public health experts frequently ignore them despite the fact that massive and coordinated efforts are required for their effective and long-term prevention. Human factors and poor driving performance are the most significant contributors to car accidents globally, as shown by a series of studies exploring the causes of traffic road accidents. Since road safety is a key concern in developing countries, our research focuses on the car driver behavioral risk factors in the Republic of Moldova.
 Material and methods. A cross-sectional quantitative descriptive using a questionnaire was applied online via a Google form document among car drivers, between January-March 2022. Microsoft Excel was used for the statistical analyses. 
 Results. The questionnaire was completed by 257 respondents above 18 years, of which 61.9% were female and 38.1% were male, mostly with a category B license (73.5%) and majority from urban area (87.5%). More than half (55.6%) mention that drove a car daily and 30% of them have a drive experience of more than ten years. Respondents express great concern (71.2%) about the issue of traffic accidents, and 76.3% think that unsafe roads are a key contributing factor. At least once being involved as a driver in road accidents where medical care was needed was mentioned by 2.7% of respondents. 
 Conclusions. Educational programs and awareness campaigns about road safety among drivers and other vulnerable road users should be systematically organized.

How do driving behavior and attitudes toward road safety vary between developed and developing countries? Evidence from Iran and the Netherlands

Introduction: The rates of road traffic injuries and fatalities in developing countries are significantly higher than in developed countries. This study examines the differences in driving behavior, road safety attitudes, and driving habits between a developed country (the Netherlands) and a developing country (Iran), which bear major differences in terms of crash involvement per population. Method: In this context, this study assesses the statistical association of crash involvement with errors, lapses, aggressive driving incidents, and non-compliance with traffic rules, attitudes, and habits. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate data obtained from 1,440 questionnaires (720 samples for each group). Results: The results revealed that more insecure attitudes toward traffic-regulation observance, negative driving habits, and risky behaviors, such as traffic rule violations act as influential factors of crash involvement. Iranian participants showed a greater likelihood to get involved in violations and driving habits with a higher level of risk. In addition, lower levels of safety attitudes toward traffic-regulation observance were observed. On the other hand, Dutch drivers were more likely to report lapses and errors. Dutch drivers also reported safer behavior in terms of unwillingness to engage in risky behaviors such as violations (speeding and no-overtaking). The structural equation models for crash involvement based on behaviors, attitudes, and driving habits were also evaluated for their accuracy and statistical fit using relevant indicators. Practical Applications: Finally, the findings of the present study point out the need for extensive research in some areas to foster policies that can effectively enhance safer driving.

The influence of fatalistic beliefs and risk perceptions on road safety attitudes in Latin America; A two-country study

Road safety is a major challenge in the Latin American region; however, there is a significant lack of research undertaken there. To contribute to addressing this gap, this paper reports on an exploration of the antecedents of traffic safety attitudes in two Latin American contexts: Brazil and Ecuador. Building on related work undertaken in other countries, the research explored the relationships between fatalistic beliefs, traffic risk perceptions, and road safety attitudes, while accounting for age, gender, and exposure to the road environment. Data from 2432 individuals, analysed using Structural Equation Modelling, revealed differences in the extent to which different fatalistic belief constructs (including divine control, luck, helplessness, internality, and general fatalism) were related to road safety attitudes. Moreover, fatalistic beliefs were found to influence road safety attitudes both directly and indirectly through their influence on risk perceptions. Those that reported more fatalistic beliefs also reported more dangerous attitudes to road safety and a lower perception of on-road risk. Mirroring findings from work undertaken in other countries, we found males compared to females and younger compared to older respondents to report more dangerous attitudes to road safety, with inconclusive results for risk perceptions. We also found very similar patterns of results in the data from the two countries included in the research. Results are discussed with regards to informing the design of road safety interventions aimed at influencing individual road user attitudes and, ultimately, human behaviour and system performance.

Evaluation of a road safety educational programme for senior elementary school students in Cambodia: A pilot study

Purpose: Road accidents are the leading cause of non-disease-related deaths among teenagers in Cambodia. However, Cambodian schools continue to lack road safety education programmes and standardised guidelines. This study evaluated the effects of a customised comprehensive road safety educational programme for older elementary school students in Cambodia. Design: We conducted a road safety educational programme at an elementary school in Cambodia. The programme consisted of seven parts and included content related to pedestrian and vehicle (car, motorcycle and bike) safety. Methods: We used a mixed method to evaluate changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices following the programme. For the quantitative evaluation, we conducted a quasi-experimental study using a nonequivalent control group pre-test–post-test design involving 52 students. The experimental group comprised fourth graders (aged 10 years) and the control group consisted of fifth graders (aged 11 years). For the qualitative evaluation, we conducted focus group interviews with six participants from the experimental group. Results: Post-test road safety knowledge ( Z = −2.79; p = .005) and attitudes ( Z = −2.05, p = .041) improved significantly in the experimental group. Qualitatively, three themes were identified: participants acquired new insights into road safety, they adopted more positive attitudes and they made an effort to practise road safety. Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrated a possible positive effect of a road safety educational programme, suggesting that, following additional verification, it could be used to improve road safety for older elementary school students in Cambodia.

Improvement of hazard prediction accuracy after training: Moderation effect of driving self-efficacy and road safety attitudes of learner drivers

This paper explores effectiveness testing of a newly developed online hazard prediction training program for learner drivers. It also aims to evaluate the role of participants’ driving self-efficacy and road safety attitudes on program effectiveness. Eighty learner drivers who participated in standard driving training took part in the study. Forty-two of them were assigned to the experimental group and thirty-eight – to the control group. The experimental group was exposed to 2 × 45 min. intervention sessions delivered by a trained driver instructor in an online format. The scores of driving self-efficacy and road safety attitudes were assessed by self-reported measures at pre-test. The effectiveness of the program was tested by the improvement of Hazard prediction test accuracy from pre-test to post-test.Results reveal that hazard prediction skills improved only slightly in both experimental and control groups. The training effect occurs only for learner drivers who are men (effect size – d = 0.73), whereas no significant effect is found for women participants. The difference between pre-test and post-test variable does not correlate with either driving self-efficacy or road safety attitudes, therefore, the hypothesis of moderation effect is rejected.The new online program for hazard prediction skills improvement shows promising results for learner drivers, especially among men. The authors of the study advise a replication of the gender effect on the program effectiveness, and a gender-tailored alteration for the program.

The Influence of Fatalistic Beliefs and Risk Perceptions on Road Safety Attitudes in Latin America; a Two-Country Study

The Influence of Fatalistic Beliefs and Risk Perceptions on Road Safety Attitudes in Latin America; a Two-Country Study

Exploring the Relationships between Demographics, Road Safety Attitudes, and Self-Reported Pedestrian Behaviours in Bangladesh

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users in low- and middle-income countries, hence understanding their attitudes towards traffic safety and the pedestrian behaviours associated with those attitudes is vital. The current study identifies the factor structure of a self-report questionnaire on pedestrian behaviours and road safety attitudes and explores the relationships between them. It also assesses demographic effects. A total of 532 people were surveyed. The questionnaire sections related to attitudes and behaviours were developed for use in different, largely high-income settings, hence their suitability for use in the low-income setting of Bangladesh was first assessed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). A structural equation model was then developed to examine the relationships between attitudes and pedestrian behaviours. It was found that positive attitudes towards traffic safety were associated with safer pedestrian behaviours, and that males, younger respondents, and less educated respondents reported performing riskier behaviours and holding more dangerous attitudes to road safety. Results are discussed in terms of the factors likely to influence such behaviours, as well as a discussion on the need for validation of the research tools which have been developed in high-income settings for low-income settings.

Vulnerable road users: Cross-cultural perspectives on performance and attitudes

Pedestrians, cyclists and powered two-wheeler riders are considered vulnerable road users, as they are prone to a high risk of injury in the event of vehicular collision. This paper sought to elucidate the road safety performance and attitudes of vulnerable road users in 32 countries. In addition, comparisons between countries and demographic characteristics have been conducted, and recommendations that could enhance vulnerable road users' safety have been provided. For the study, data from the second edition of the ESRA survey (E-Survey on Road Users' Attitudes – ESRA2) conducted in 2018 were utilized. The results indicate that crossing the road at places other than nearby pedestrian crossings, reading a text message or checking social media while walking on the streets, cycling and riding without wearing a helmet, and speeding on powered two-wheelers outside built-up areas but not on motorways/freeways were the most frequently reported self-declared behaviours in the 32 countries. Finally, some solutions on preventing road crashes and increasing vulnerable road users' safety such as infrastructure interventions, use of protective equipment, and training and educational campaigns are discussed.

Changes in beliefs during driver training and their association with risky driving

ObjectiveResearchers continue to seek reasons for novice drivers’ over-representation in crashes. Evidence on how early interventions might mitigate this global phenomenon remains inconclusive. This study explores changes in novice drivers’ beliefs during pre-licensure training and within their first one-year independent provisional license period, and how these changes might help to predict subsequent risky driving. MethodA sample of novice drivers (N = 175) from Lithuania participated in a three-wave longitudinal study. They completed questionnaires when beginning driver training (T1), at the end of their training (T2), and after one year of independent driving (T3). The Attitudes towards Risky Driving Questionnaire, the Adelaide Driving Self Efficacy Scale, the Driving Cognitions Questionnaire, the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, and the Social Desirability Scale were used. ResultsReported driving self-efficacy increased and fear of driving decreased from the beginning to the end of driver training and after one-year follow-up in both men and women. Road safety attitudes changed in the risk-unfavourable direction from T1 to T2. However, at T3 these attitudes returned to the initial level for men. Female novice drivers reported the same level of safety attitudes at T2 and T3. Risky attitudes, driving self-efficacy, and fear of driving predicted reported driving errors and violations. ConclusionsReported psychological changes occurred during the driver training period and in the first year of independent driving. It is recommended that special attention should be paid to a group of novices who experienced safety compromising changes in attitudes, driving self-efficacy, and fear of driving during training and in the first year of their driving career.

Relations between adolescent sensation seeking and traffic injury: Multiple-mediating effects of road safety attitudes, intentions and behaviors

Objective: Road traffic injuries to youth are a serious global public health concern. One contributor to adolescent injury risk is the tendency to engage in sensation seeking behaviors. The current study examined how sensation seeking personality might directly influence adolescent traffic injury, as well as how it might indirectly influence traffic injury as mediated by road safety attitudes, intentions, and behaviors.Methods: 4470 adolescents of 10–15 years were recruited from 29 primary and secondary schools in China. Youth completed several self-report questionnaires, including measures of sensation seeking, road safety attitudes and intentions, and road user behaviors. Spearman correlations and logistic regression tested the direct effects of sensation seeking, road safety attitudes, road behavior intentions, and road user behaviors on traffic injury. Structural Equation Modeling evaluated a multiple mediation model of road safety attitudes, intentions, and behaviors as mediators of the association between sensation seeking and adolescent traffic injury.Results: Correlation coefficients between traffic injury and the other variables ranged from 0.01 to 0.15, with moderate relations emerging between adolescent traffic injury and most other variables. Logistic regression analysis showed that Disinhibition sensation seeking, road safety attitudes, and road user behaviors predicted adolescent traffic injury significantly (OR = 1.03, 0.35, 2.99, respectively). The multiple mediation model analysis indicated that, after controlling for adolescent gender and age, most paths were significant: both road safety attitudes and road user behaviors mediated the association between Disinhibition and traffic injury, and road safety attitudes, road behavior intentions, and road user behaviors sequentially mediated the relation between Disinhibition and traffic injury.Conclusions: There were direct effects of Disinhibition sensation seeking, road safety attitudes, and road user behaviors on adolescent traffic injury. Sensation seeking also indirectly affected adolescent traffic injury through multiple mediating roles of road safety attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. Implications for traffic injury prevention and training are discussed.

Road user behaviour, attitudes and crashes: a survey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia

ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe road user behaviour, attitudes and crashes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in four urban, regional and remote communities located in New South Wales...

Road safety attitudes, perceptions and behaviours of taxi drivers in Hong Kong

By employing abbreviated versions of Driver Attitude Questionnaire (DAQ), Driver Risk Perception Questionnaire (DRPQ) and Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ), this study provides a profile of the ...

Going with the flow

Purpose This paper aims to examine motorcycle driving norms and their implications for social marketing practice. It investigates whether misperceptions of descriptive norms related to motorcycle speeding behaviour are prevalent among young motorcyclists, and whether there is an association between these misperceptions with their speeding behaviour. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey of 541 young motorcyclists was carried out as the second phase of a larger project, which examined the role of social norms related to road safety attitudes and behaviours. Findings The results showed misperceptions of perceived speeding norms among both male and female young motorcyclists. There was an association between normative misperceptions and speeding behaviour, and between speeding behaviour and approval to speeding behaviour by young motorcyclists. In addition, peer presence was found to moderate the relationship between misperceptions of speeding norms and speeding behaviour. Originality/value The study contributes to addressing the call for study of social norms marketing and health risks in non-Western contexts. Further, the results provide support for social marketers to consider the use of social norms approach in designing social marketing campaigns to promote safe motorcycle driving behaviours.

Parental role in children’s road safety experiences

This study investigated parents’ attitudes, knowledge and behaviours relating to their role in protecting and teaching their young children road safety skills; and in particular parents’ perceptions regarding where they thought their child learnt the most about road safety. A questionnaire exploring attitudes, knowledge and behaviours on general road safety was completed by 272 participants with at least one child aged between 3 and 10years residing in the Australian state of Victoria. Participants were predominantly female (74%); were either married or in a de facto relationship (92%); and had completed secondary school education (73%). General road safety behaviours and attitudes were fairly positive, with most participants reporting that they restrict their alcohol consumption or do not drink at all while driving (98%), they drive at or below the speed limit (85%) and ‘always’ wear their seatbelts (98%). However, more than half of the participants reported engaging in distracting behaviours ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ (54%) and only half reported never engaging in aggressive driving (49%). Only 77% believed they were their child’s primary learning source for road safety skills (internal locus of control). The remaining 23% believed school, friends or television were the primary source (external locus of control). Parents with an internal locus of control in educating their children about road safety skills were significantly more likely to be educated at a University level or higher and were more likely to reside in metropolitan versus rural/regional areas, compared with parents with an external locus of control. Parents with an internal locus of control typically had greater knowledge about: whether it is legal in Victoria to drive with unrestrained passengers; whether fines were intended for revenue raising; and whether it is OK to drive 10km/h above the speed limit in some circumstances. This research provides evidence for road safety intervention development, particularly the potential for parents to be the primary trainers in road safety skills.

Gender Effects in Young Road Users on Road Safety Attitudes, Behaviors and Risk Perception

In the present study, we investigated gender-related effects on road safety attitudes in 2681 young drivers (1458 males, 54.4%; aged 18–22) who filled out several scales assessing attitudes toward road safety issues, driving behavior in specific hypothetical situations, accident risk perception, and concerns about such a risk. We focused only on young drivers to better understand the role of gender in road safety attitudes in a period of life in which risky behaviors are widespread for males and females. Indeed, there is still no agreement as to the nature of these gender differences. According to some authors, the effects of gender on being involved in a crash due to driving skills are either non-existent or largely explained by differences in alcohol consumption. In our study, we found gender differences in road safety attitudes (i.e., “negative attitude toward traffic rules and risky driving”; “negative attitude toward drugs and alcohol” and “tolerance toward speeding”) and in driver behavior (i.e., “errors in inattentive driving” and “driving violations”). This result is consistent in all drivers coming from nine different European countries. Our analyses yielded an important finding concerning risk perception. The results indicate that the level of risk perception during driving is the same for males and females. However, these two groups differ in the level of concern about this risk, with males being less concerned about the risk of a road accident. This suggests that the main difference between these two groups is not strictly related to judgment of the perceived risk probability but rather to the level of concern experienced about the consequences of the risk. This difference between risk perception and worry could explain differences in the frequency of car accidents in the two groups. The present findings may provide new insights for the development of gender-based prevention programs.

The role of safety culture/climate and social cognitive factors for driving behaviors of Turkish professional drivers transporting petroleum products

The present study aimed to examine and compare the role of safety culture/climate and social cognitive factors on driving behaviors in a group of Turkish professional drivers transporting petroleum products. A questionnaire survey was conducted in a sample of 119 male drivers working for an oil company. The questionnaire included items related to demographic information and driving history; perceptions about the safety culture/climate of the company; fatalism; traffic risk perception; road safety attitudes; and driving behaviors. The results showed that being a truck driver compared to being a tanker driver was positively related to driving violations, while commitment to the management safety was negatively related to driving violations. On the other hand, safe attitudes towards speeding were negatively related to driving errors/lapses. Fatalism was positively related to both driving violations and errors/lapses. Also, compared to tanker drivers, truck drivers reported more violations and errors/lapses, a lower traffic risk perception and higher fatalism. Implications for the safety of professional drivers working for oil companies are discussed.

Relationship Between Motorcyclists’ Attitudes, Behavior, and Other Attributes With Declared Accident Involvement in Europe

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate patterns of road safety attitudes and behaviors of motorcyclists in Europe on the basis of the results of the pan-European questionnaire-based survey SARTRE-4, carried out in late 2010 in 18 European countries and Israel. In addition, we attempt to explore the link between attitudes, behaviors, and other motorcyclist attributes with motorcyclist involvement in accidents in the past 3 years, in which someone, including the rider, was injured and received medical attention as stated in the motorcyclists’ responses. Methods: The various components of motorcyclist attitudes and behaviors such as reasons for driving a motorcycle, driving while impaired, perceived risk factors, and risk-taking behavior were determined by means of a principal component analysis (PCA) on 38 variables contained in the survey. A binary logistic regression model was then applied in order to link the attitudes and the stated behavior with the declared involvement in past accidents. Results: The results revealed 8 components. Component 1 (driving while impaired and speeding accident factors), component 2 (motorcycle benefits), component 3 (perceived risk of maneuvers), component 4 (sensation seeking), component 5 (road, vehicle, and environmental risk factors), component 7 (no modal options), and component 8 (attitudes toward drinking and friends’ drinking) are associated with stated preferences and attitudes, whereas component 6 (dangerous and angry behaviors) is associated with stated behavior. Moreover, it was found that motorcyclists who tend to have dangerous attitudes and behaviors as well as younger motorcyclists are more likely to have been involved in an accident. It was also showed that driving exposure is positively associated with increased probability of a past accident. Conclusions: The findings of the study provide some insight into the association between attitudes, behaviors, and declared past accident involvement. Furthermore, the analysis of such large databases with the inclusion of many different countries constitutes a step for further research in the field of motorcyclists’ behaviors and safety. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Traffic Injury Prevention to view the supplemental file.

Traffic risk perception, road safety attitudes, and behaviors among road users: a comparison of Turkey and Norway

The present study aims to investigate differences in road safety attitudes, driver behavior, and traffic risk perception between Turkey and Norway. A questionnaire survey was conducted among a sample of Norwegian (n = 247) and Turkish (n = 213) road users. The results show that Turkish respondents perceived traffic risk to be higher than Norwegian respondents. Turkish respondents reported safer attitudes towards drinking and driving than Norwegian respondents, while Norwegians reported safer attitudes towards speeding. Turkish respondents reported a lower frequency of speeding behaviors than Norwegian respondents, whereas Norwegian respondents reported a lower frequency of drinking and driving. Traffic risk perception was related to road safety attitudes and behaviors among Norwegian respondents but not among Turkish respondents. The results were discussed with respect to differences in traffic safety, traffic culture, and the development levels in Turkey and Norway.