The effects of situational factors and impulsiveness on drivers' intentions to violate traffic rules: Difference of driving experience

This study aimed to explore the effects of situational variables and impulsiveness on drivers' intentions to violate traffic rules among novice, less experienced and experienced drivers in China. Specifically, eight scenarios with manipulated variables, including time pressures (high and low), descriptive norms (positive and negative) and accident base rates (high and low), were randomly presented to 232 drivers. All independent variables, except the descriptive norm, were between subjects designs. The results showed that hypothetical high time pressure and unsafe descriptive norm increased drivers' intentions to commit violations, respectively. Moreover, the effects of situational factors and impulsiveness on their intentions to violate traffic rules depended on driving experience. Cognitive impulsiveness predicted the violation intention only of novice drivers, whereas the descriptive norm affected the intention of the remaining two groups. The stated accident base rate moderated the relationship between the descriptive norm and violation intention of experienced drivers, specifically, when the accident base rate was hypothetical high their violation intention relied more on descriptive norms. The results indicated that with increased driving experience, drivers became more sensitive to situational cues, less influenced by individual factors and, correspondingly, more likely to behave in a manner that was congruent with the surrounding situation and individuals. The potential applications for this research are the development of intervention and training programs specifically for drivers with varying levels of driving experience. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.