Modernization of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire

• Items related to inattention, aggression and health were added to the DBQ.
• A 65-item scale resulted: Inattention Errors, Age-Related Problems, Distraction & Hurry and Aggressive Violations.
• Factor scores were related to age, gender and driving exposure.
• Factor scores predicted self-reported police citations and collisions.

IntroductionThe current study builds on previous versions of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) by incorporating a larger sample of driving behaviors targeting inattention, distraction, aggressive driving, and health related to aging. The goals of this study were to determine if the resulting factor structure was consistent with a more contemporary view of unsafe driving behaviors, and to determine whether scores on the factors could predict self-reported collisions and police citations.MethodsThe instrument was given to a sample of 3295 drivers ranging in age from 19 to 80+ years old. It was divided in two sections, the first to provide demographic information and driving history data and the second containing 105 driver behavior questions.ResultsAn exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 65-item scale organized in four factors. The factors were labeled tentatively as Inattention Errors, Age-Related Problems, Distraction and Hurry, and Aggressive Violations. Regression analyses showed that the factors were predictors of self-reported, at-fault collisions and police citations.Practical implicationsThe factor scores found in this research are consistent with a useful theoretical framework for understanding unsafe driver actions, and demonstrate some potential to identify several individual difference variables that predict self-reported collisions and citations.