Personality and attitudinal factors related to problem driving

Abstract

A battery of tests including the 16PF (a personality inventory) and the Siebrecht Attitude Scale (a measure of attitude toward driving) was administered to a random sample of drivers who participated in the Texas Department of Public Safety driver improvement program during 1972. The results of this administration were subsequently employed to identify those personality and attitudinal factors related to problem drivers. In addition, an analysis of the effect of this training program on driving record was also conducted. The post treatment driving records for both treatment and control groups were compared on the basis of accidents, violations, and total number of entries for a 12 month period following training. Significant improvements were noted for several age/sex categories in all three types of driving record entries. The analysis of the effect of the training program on attitudinal and knowledge components of driving indicated that the training I program was effective in improving the students' capacities in these areas for selected age/sex groups. An analysis of the personality traits of the problem driver was also conducted. No outstanding traits were uncovered that could be used to identify the problem driver in the driving population at large. A multiple regression analysis was applied to the pre-training driving records and test battery scores for the members of the treatment group. The objective of this analysis was to develop a scheme for identifying those individuals most likely to benefit from participation in the training program. The results indicated it was possible to predict with some accuracy, the amount of improvement in driving record for a 12 month period following training. Recommendations for field validation of this equation and its implementation were also made.