The psychological underpinnings of young pedestrians' deliberate rule-breaking behaviour at pedestrian railway crossings: A cross-sectional study utilising the Theory of Planned Behaviour

School children continue to be disproportionally represented in train pedestrian collisions. Although this is often thought to be the result of deliberate rule violations, scant research has been conducted into the determinants of rule-breaking behaviour at pedestrian railway crossings among this cohort. The current study used a Theory of Planned Behaviour model, including a sensation seeking construct, to investigate the underpinnings of young pedestrians' railway violations. In total, 119 participants under the age of 18 completed a questionnaire assessing the standard Theory of Planned Behaviour constructs (attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control), demographic variables (age and gender), sensation seeking tendencies and deliberate violations at level crossings. In an attempt to gain further insight into the origins of rule breaking, an additional question was incorporated about whether participants had ever made a mistake at a railway level crossing. Regression analyses revealed support for the Theory of Planned Behaviour in predicting intention, in that subjective norm and attitude, but not perceived behavioural control, significantly predicted intention to violate railway pedestrian rules. Gender (being male) was also found to significantly predict intention, although age and sensation seeking did not. Overall, the final model accounted for 65% of the variance in intentions to deliberately break the rules at railway pedestrian crossings. Results also provided preliminary support for the notion that young pedestrians are more likely to deliberately violate the rules rather than make errors while using railway level crossings. Overall, findings suggest that intentional rule breaking is influenced by attitudinal and normative factors and is most problematic among males. Directions for future research as well as remedial efforts to discourage intentional violations are discussed.