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Risky and anxious-aggressive drivers: A key barrier to traffic safety legislation in Germany.

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Title: Risky and anxious-aggressive drivers: A key barrier to traffic safety legislation in Germany.
Authors: Haustein, Sonja1 (AUTHOR) sonh@dtu.dk, Humpe, Andreas2 (AUTHOR), Gössling, Stefan3,4,5 (AUTHOR)
Source: Transportation Research: Part F. Aug2022, Vol. 89, p84-96. 13p.
Subjects: Guardrails on roads, Traffic regulations, Traffic safety, Speed limits, Motor vehicle driving, K-means clustering, Anxiety
Geographic Terms: Germany
Abstract: • We distinguish 4 groups of drivers based on driving behaviour and personality. • Risky drivers and Anxious-aggressive drivers are the most problematic for traffic safety. • Risky and Anxious-aggressive drivers own or wish to own large and powerful cars. • Both groups deliberately violate traffic laws and oppose stricter traffic safety legislation. • Voters for conservative and liberal parties are overrepresented in these groups. Traffic safety is high on the agenda of European governments. Yet, countries including Germany maintain policies that are commonly identified as increasing traffic risks, such as speed limits set too high or trends of greater car motorization and mass. To better understand some of the interrelationships of driver characteristics and car segments, this paper identifies different groups of drivers, based on a representative sample of German automobilists (n = 1211). Psychological instruments used to identify driver segments include the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ), the Multidimensional Driving Style Inventory (MDSI), and the HEXACO Personality Inventory. Based on k-means clustering, we identified four distinct groups: Risky drivers, Showy anxious-aggressive drivers, Anxious drivers and Calm drivers. Questions focused on socio-demographics, political orientation, and traffic laws are used to describe these psychographic segments. Findings suggest that Risky and Showy anxious-aggressive drivers represent a greater threat to traffic safety than other driver segments for different reasons: they drive more powerful and larger cars, deliberately violate traffic laws – creating unsafe traffic conditions for others –, and oppose legislation making traffic safer, while also voting for parties holding on to the status quo. As their political choices appear dominated by automobile interests, there are widespread implications for society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Engineering Source
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Abstract:• We distinguish 4 groups of drivers based on driving behaviour and personality. • Risky drivers and Anxious-aggressive drivers are the most problematic for traffic safety. • Risky and Anxious-aggressive drivers own or wish to own large and powerful cars. • Both groups deliberately violate traffic laws and oppose stricter traffic safety legislation. • Voters for conservative and liberal parties are overrepresented in these groups. Traffic safety is high on the agenda of European governments. Yet, countries including Germany maintain policies that are commonly identified as increasing traffic risks, such as speed limits set too high or trends of greater car motorization and mass. To better understand some of the interrelationships of driver characteristics and car segments, this paper identifies different groups of drivers, based on a representative sample of German automobilists (n = 1211). Psychological instruments used to identify driver segments include the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ), the Multidimensional Driving Style Inventory (MDSI), and the HEXACO Personality Inventory. Based on k-means clustering, we identified four distinct groups: Risky drivers, Showy anxious-aggressive drivers, Anxious drivers and Calm drivers. Questions focused on socio-demographics, political orientation, and traffic laws are used to describe these psychographic segments. Findings suggest that Risky and Showy anxious-aggressive drivers represent a greater threat to traffic safety than other driver segments for different reasons: they drive more powerful and larger cars, deliberately violate traffic laws – creating unsafe traffic conditions for others –, and oppose legislation making traffic safer, while also voting for parties holding on to the status quo. As their political choices appear dominated by automobile interests, there are widespread implications for society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:13698478
DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2022.06.005