Citation

McDonald M, Kaye SA, Lewis I. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2023; 94: 268-285.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2023.02.013

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Approximately one in five Australians killed in motor vehicle crashes will not be wearing a seatbelt. A circulating lay theory suggests that drivers may be questioning the continued necessity of seatbelts given advances in other advanced vehicle technologies. This belief is deeply concerning given the implementation of advanced driver assistance systems in new cars is rapidly increasing. The objective of this research was to apply an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), including the additional constructs of trust in vehicle technology and perceived risk of death or injury in the event of a crash, to assess the influence of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control (PBC), trust, and perceived risk on drivers' intentions to engage in seatbelt non-use. The study also aimed to examine if the predictive utility of the extended TPB differed according to the presence of passive (e.g., airbags) active (e.g., lane keeping assist) technologies in vehicles, Further, the influence of underlying behavioural belief, control beliefs, and normative beliefs on driver's intentions to engage in seatbelt non-use were also explored. Participants (N = 182, 83 males, Mage = 44.23 years) completed a 25-minute online questionnaire. The study was a cross-sectional, between groups design in which all participants were exposed to a baseline control scenario, then randomly allocated to one of four experimental scenarios which manipulated the type of vehicle technologies present in a hypothetical vehicle. Consistent with theoretical expectations of the standard TPB, a hierarchal regression revealed that the constructs of attitude, subjective norms, and PBC (self-efficacy only) significantly and positively predicted seatbelt non-use intentions. Of the extended constructs, trust, but not perceived risk, exhibited a significant effect, and positively predicted seatbelt non-use intentions in the control condition and the active technology condition. Additionally, a critical beliefs analysis found that discomfort was a significant positive predictor of seatbelt non-use intentions. Overall, the findings offer support for the use of the TPB to explain seatbelt non-use intentions and suggest that trust in vehicle technology may influence drivers' decisions to not wear a seatbelt. This research offers a novel determinant of seatbelt non-use that may be more responsive behavioural change interventions.

Language: en

Keywords

Advanced driver assistance systems; Perceived risk; Seatbelt non-use; Trust