Assessing and Influencing Driver Attitudes in the United Kingdom

Accident and injury rates among car drivers have been consistently decreasing in the United Kingdom since 1994. The United Kingdom now has one of the lowest accident rates in the world. However, it is unclear to what extent this improvement is because of improvements in car and road design and legislation rather than improvements in driver behaviors. Indeed, although rates have decreased overall, among young and novice drivers they have been increasing. Driver attitudes are thought to underlie this trend and to constrain further improvements in the overall accident rate. Attitudes that affect driving performance have been explicitly included in the driver competency framework that now forms the basis of the United Kingdom's approach to driver training, assessment, and licensing. As part of these developments, the Driving Standards Agency commissioned Competence Assurance Solutions Ltd. to develop and evaluate an attitude assessment questionnaire, the Attitude Advisor, primarily for use with trainee drivers but potentially with other groups of drivers as well. The questionnaire's design is based on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior and a taxonomy of driver attitudes related to safety. Findings from trials of the prototype questionnaire provide support for the underlying theory and evidence for its criterion-related validity. In particular, scores on the questionnaire are related to age, gender, accident record, and driving convictions. This paper outlines options for how the Attitude Advisor may be used as part of driver training and personal development in the United Kingdom.