TY - JOUR
T1 - The quiet passenger
T2 - cognitions, avoidance, and onset among people with driving anxiety
AU - Stephens, A. N.
AU - Collette, B.
AU - Hidalgo-Munoz, A.
AU - Fort, A.
AU - Evennou, M.
AU - Jallais, C.
N1 - Funding Information:
Associate Professor Joanne E Taylor for advice provided to colleagues at The University of Gustave Eiffel regarding questionnaire design. Dr Michael Scibilia, MUARC for assistance with recruitment and communications
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - Background: Anxiety over driving can have consequences for road safety and individual well-being. This area is under-researched in Australia, despite international research suggesting that most drivers experience some level of anxiety over driving. Objectives: This study aimed to contribute to the understanding of driving anxiety by 1) confirming the factor structure of two questionnaires designed to understand the concerns (Driving Cognitions Questionnaire: DCQ) and avoidance behaviours (Driving and Riding Avoidance Scale: DRAS); 2) providing evidence of anxiety manifestations in Australian drivers, and 3) understanding whether these differ according to the initial onset of this anxiety. Methods: A total of 1,600 people (77% females; age ranging from 18 to 89 [M = 27.92; ± 13.49], 75% licenced, 20% learning, 5% unlicenced) in Australia who identified as having “some” level of anxiety over driving, completed an online questionnaire regarding their anxiety. Results: Confirmatory Factor Analyses showed the two-factor structure of the DRAS (general and traffic avoidance; and weather and riding avoidance) and the two-factor structure of the DCQ (crash-related concerns and social and panic related concerns) best fit the data. The most common anxiety onsets were crash involvement (14%), knowing someone who had been in a crash (9%) and due to criticism from others (9%). While no differences emerged between these groups on avoidance behaviour nor on crash concerns, social and panic concerns were higher for the criticism onset group. Conclusions: The results demonstrate difference sources of anxiety and provide evidence of the importance of interactions with passengers in determining how a driver feels about the driving task. Practical implications: Avenues for the reduction or avoidance of anxiety are proposed. These include better awareness and education for drivers regarding the importance of positive interactions and/or well as better journey management to avoid triggers of anxiety.
AB - Background: Anxiety over driving can have consequences for road safety and individual well-being. This area is under-researched in Australia, despite international research suggesting that most drivers experience some level of anxiety over driving. Objectives: This study aimed to contribute to the understanding of driving anxiety by 1) confirming the factor structure of two questionnaires designed to understand the concerns (Driving Cognitions Questionnaire: DCQ) and avoidance behaviours (Driving and Riding Avoidance Scale: DRAS); 2) providing evidence of anxiety manifestations in Australian drivers, and 3) understanding whether these differ according to the initial onset of this anxiety. Methods: A total of 1,600 people (77% females; age ranging from 18 to 89 [M = 27.92; ± 13.49], 75% licenced, 20% learning, 5% unlicenced) in Australia who identified as having “some” level of anxiety over driving, completed an online questionnaire regarding their anxiety. Results: Confirmatory Factor Analyses showed the two-factor structure of the DRAS (general and traffic avoidance; and weather and riding avoidance) and the two-factor structure of the DCQ (crash-related concerns and social and panic related concerns) best fit the data. The most common anxiety onsets were crash involvement (14%), knowing someone who had been in a crash (9%) and due to criticism from others (9%). While no differences emerged between these groups on avoidance behaviour nor on crash concerns, social and panic concerns were higher for the criticism onset group. Conclusions: The results demonstrate difference sources of anxiety and provide evidence of the importance of interactions with passengers in determining how a driver feels about the driving task. Practical implications: Avenues for the reduction or avoidance of anxiety are proposed. These include better awareness and education for drivers regarding the importance of positive interactions and/or well as better journey management to avoid triggers of anxiety.
KW - Driver anxiety
KW - Driving avoidance
KW - Driving cognitions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127516181&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.trf.2022.03.017
DO - 10.1016/j.trf.2022.03.017
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85127516181
SN - 1369-8478
VL - 87
SP - 30
EP - 41
JO - Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
JF - Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
ER -