Self-Regulating compliance to enhance safe driving behaviours

• Published in: Transportation research. Part F, Traffic psychology and behaviour Traffic psychology and behaviour, 2024-08, Vol.105, p.437-453
• Main Authors: Watson-Brown, Natalie, Truelove, Verity, Senserrick, Teresa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Enforcement; Mobile phone; Risky driving behaviour; Self-determination theory; Self-regulation; Speeding
• ISSN: 1369-8478
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2024.07.021

•Internal regulation and external regulation contribute to reduced engagement in speeding and phone use while driving.•Internal regulation is influenced by perceived legitimacy, risk perception, and repeated engagement in speeding and phone use while driving.•Females and older drivers reported greater capacity for internal regulation.•Fewer hours spent driving was associated with greater internal regulation.•Higher certainty of apprehension was associated with greater external regulation. Risky and non-compliant driving behaviours contribute to road crash fatalities and serious injuries globally. Enforcement measures are essential but shown to be limited in reach and effectiveness. As such, it is critical to examine root causes of engagement in non-compliance to develop effective countermeasures. Self-regulation is an under-researched construct recently found to be important in reduced engagement in unintentional and deliberate risky driving behaviours. This study explored factors that are associated with regulatory processes for mobile phone use while driving and speeding, guided by self-determination theory. Licensed drivers aged 17 years and over (n = 1,146) were recruited to participate in an online survey. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were conducted finding internal (self) and external regulation accounted for 28 % of the variance in mobile phone use while driving and 39 % of the variance in speeding. Across the behaviours, internal regulation was found to be similarly influenced by legitimacy, risk perception and repeated engagement in the behaviours, with greater perceived legitimacy of enforcement, a higher risk perception and less engagement in non-compliance predicting greater internal regulation. Females, who comprised 53 % of participants, and older participants (age range 17–82 years) reported greater capacity for internal regulation across the behaviours, and fewer hours spent driving was predictive of internal regulation. Greater external regulation was predicted by higher perceived certainty of apprehension for both behaviours, and a lack of regulation was predicted by habitual behaviours for mobile phone use while driving. While there were similarities between the regulation of speeding and mobile phone use while driving, nuances were recognised that are important for targeted interventions and identifying effective components of countermeasures. The findings are anticipated to enhance current systems of enforcement to have a g