An application of the driver behaviour questionnaire in an Australian organisational fleet setting

This study reports on the utilisation of the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) to examine the self-reported driving behaviours of a sample of Australian fleet drivers (N = 443). Surveys were posted to participants who agreed to participate in the study. PCA factor analysis with oblique rotation identified a three factor solution which supports previous research that has demonstrated distinctions between different driving practices (e.g., errors, highway code violations and aggressive driving violations). However, a larger number of items traditionally related with highway code violations were found to be associated with aggressive driving acts among the current sample. Additional analysis revealed that the DBQ factors were negatively related with self-reported traffic offences, although at a multivariate level only the number of kilometres driven each year (i.e., exposure) proved to be predictive of incurring fines/demerit points. This paper further outlines the major findings of the study and highlights implications regarding the utilisation of the DBQ within fleet settings to examine on-road behaviour among professional drivers.