The validity of self-reported driver competence: Relations between measures of perceived driver competence and actual driving skill

Perceived driver competence is commonly assessed by asking drivers to compare their own competence to that of the average driver. This method has been criticised however, and it has been suggested that perceived driver competence should be assessed with respect to specific aspects of competence. This study examines the validity of two such self-report instruments. 136 driving test candidates completed self-report instruments for Perceived Practical Driver Competence (PPDC), and Self-Assessment of Driving Skills (SADS), as well as items about confidence in passing the driving test and took the Swedish driving test. The strong positive correlation between PPDC and SADS scores indicated that the instruments measure the construct of perceived driver competence, which provided evidence of convergent validity. Moreover, the moderate relationship between confidence in passing the test and perceived driver competence provided support for discriminant validity as these measures can be assumed to tap outcome expectations and self-efficacy beliefs, respectively. In addition, the results were in line with previous findings, indicating that when perceived driver competence is related to driving performance rather than the skill of the average driver, a relatively large proportion of driving test candidates can accurately assess their own driver competence and there are no differences in overconfidence between males and females or drivers of different age.

Research highlights
► Support for the validity of two instruments for perceived driver competence.
► No differences with regard to gender nor age in accuracy of self-assessment.
► Drivers can make relatively accurate assessments of their own driving skill.