Citation

Greaves SP, Ellison AB. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2011; 43(5): 1828-1836.

Affiliation

Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2011.04.018

PMID

21658511

Abstract

Evidence suggests that in addition to demographics, there are strong relationships between facets of drivers' personality (e.g., aggression, thrill-seeking, altruism), aversion to risk and driving behaviour, particularly speeding. However, evidence is muted by the reliance on self-reported driving behaviour, which is thought to not accurately reflect actual driving behaviour. This paper reports on a study of 133 drivers in Sydney, who were asked to complete a short survey to develop their personality and risk aversion profiles and self-reported speeding behaviour. A Global Positioning System (GPS) device was then installed in their vehicle for several weeks as part of a major investigation of driving behaviour from which empirical measures of speeding are derived. Among the most pertinent findings are: (1) the tendency for drivers to both under and over-estimate their propensity to speed, (2) significant heterogeneity in speeding with a small, but notable number of drivers exceeding the limit for more than 20 percent of the distance driven, (3) weak relationships between the personality/risk-aversion measures and actual speeding, and (4) the suggestion that different personality traits appear to influence behaviour in different situations both from self-reported and actual speeding behaviour.

Language: en