Professional drivers’ views on risky driving behaviors and accident liability: a questionnaire survey in Xining, China

Abstract

This study examines the correlation among the attitudes, behaviors, and other characteristics of professional drivers involved in accidents in China, using a questionnaire-based survey conducted in Xining from March to October 2012. The frequency and seriousness of risky driving behaviors were assessed according to the derived 2473 drivers’ behavior questionnaire (DBQ) answers and scales, and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to identify the relationship between the risky driving behavior frequency and probability of an accident. The DBQ results revealed that bus drivers were more likely to perform risky driving behaviors, and company car drivers were least likely to be involved in accidents. Regarding driver gender, it was found that male professional drivers with dangerous driving behaviors (e.g., such as unsafe passing, speeding, tailgating, etc.) were more likely than their female counterparts to be involved in an accident. Such pattern of behavior detected in the study could form the basis for various preventive education and enforcement programs, aimed at raising driver awareness, and ultimately lead to less accident on the road.

Keywords:

• Professional drivers
• Risky driving behaviors
• Drivers’ behavior questionnaire (DBQ)
• Gender difference
• Accident liability
• Individual attitudes
• Automotive accidents

Acknowledgement

This research is partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51208051). Here we acknowledge the editors of Transportation Letters, anonymous reviewers, and authors of cited papers for their detailed comments and continued support, without which this work would not have been possible.

Notes

1 In China, the driving license has been classified into 15 grades (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, C1, C2, C3, C4, D, E, F, M, N, P), according to the “Rules for Applying for a Chinese Driver's License” released by the Ministry of Public Security in 2010, in which license A1 is for large-size passenger vehicles, license A3 is for urban buses, license B1 is for mid-size passenger vehicles, license B2 is for large-size freight vehicles, license C1 is for passenger car, license C2 is for automatic transmission car, and license C3 is for low-speed freight vehicles.