Citation

McDonald H, Berecki-Gisolf J, Stephan K, Newstead S. J. Saf. Res. 2023; 86: 390-400.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jsr.2023.08.001

PMID

37718067

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Road crashes present a serious public health issue. Many people are seriously or fatally injured every year in avoidable crashes. While these crashes can have multiple contributing factors, including road design and condition, vehicle design and condition, the environment and human error, the performance of illegal driving behavior, including speeding, may also play a role. The current study aimed to examine the mediating influence that four potential deterrents (perceptions towards enforcement, crash risk, social norms and disapproval, and negative personal/emotional affect) have between the Big Five personality traits (conscientiousness; extraversion; agreeableness; neuroticism; openness) and expectations to speed.

METHODS: A total of 5,108 drivers in Victoria, Australia completed an online survey in 2019. A mediated regression analysis was used to examine pathways in a conceptual model developed for the study.

RESULTS: The results showed that perceptions towards the four potential deterrents examined did mediate the relationship (either completely or partially) between personality and expectations to speed.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that if interventions to deter illegal driving behavior are to be successful, one factor that could be taken into account is the personality traits of drivers who may be at greatest risk of the performance of illegal driving behaviors.

Language: en

Keywords

Deterrence; Speeding; Personality; Driver behavior; Illegal driving