Personality traits in driving offenders and risk factors in driving

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to answer the following questions: 1) Are there significant differences in personality dimensions between infringing drivers and the general population? 2) Is the profile of the offending driver (consumption of alcohol or other drugs, speed, distraction, breach of rules and signals) related to his or her personality dimension? and 3) In the sample of offending drivers, are there differences in risk profiles in driving between men and women? The second objective, in the case of finding an affirmative answer to the questions posed, is to propose a review of the training programs that are currently used in awareness and road re-education courses for delinquent drivers in Catalonia. The data for this research has been obtained from a sample of drivers who, as a result of incurring infractions or crimes against traffic safety, have attended, as students, awareness and road re-education courses in centers located in different towns in Catalonia. To measure personality dimensions the EPQ-R test, a reduced version of the Eysenck’s original personality questionnaire (1994), has been used.