The Relation between the Driver Behavior Questionniare, Demographics, and Driving History

This paper presents an analysis of responses obtained on the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) and self-reported history of the frequency of crashes, citations, and warnings in a sample of 562 drivers. The sample was closely balanced by gender and distributed in a broadly proportional manner across an age range of from 20 to 69 years. As has been previously reported, age and gender were found to be related to both DBQ scores and crash rates. The size and demographic distribution of the sample allowed an analysis to be run looking at the relationships of DBQ subscale scores with crashes, citations, and warnings, while controlling for age and gender. The results show that higher violation scores are positively associated with increases in self-reported crash and citation likelihoods; the less serious but apparently more common experience of receiving a warning for one’s driving behavior has a significant positive association with both violation and lapse scores. The extent to which these findings can be considered relevant to the overall driving population is enhanced from previous research given the sample size and age/gender balance.