An instrumented vehicle assessment of problem behavior and driving style: do younger males really take more risks?

An instrumented vehicle was used to obtain behavioral data from 61 drivers ranging in age from 18 to 82. Each driver completed a personality questionnaire and participated in a study described as an evaluation of cognitive mapping and way-finding abilities. An evaluation of relationships between age, personality and driving style revealed that driver age and type A personality characteristics were significant predictors of vehicle speed and following distance, P < 0.05. However, contrary to the earlier research, which relies heavily on a self-reported driving criterion, no significant gender differences were obtained. A factor analysis of several at-risk driving behaviors identified a cluster of correlated driving behaviors that appeared to share a common characteristic identified as aggressive/impatient driving. It is suggested that the correlated cluster of driving behavior provide objective support for the assumptions of response generalization and problem behavior theory. Results are discussed with regard to implications for safe driving interventions and a problem behavior syndrome.