Citation

Hatfield J, Williamson A, Kehoe EJ, Prabhakharan P. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2017; 103: 37-43.

Affiliation

Transport and Road Safety Research Centre (TARS), The University of New South Wales, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2017.03.019

PMID

28384487

Abstract

The risky driving of young drivers may owe in part to youthful motivations (such as experience-seeking, authority rebellion, desire for peer approval) combined with incompletely developed impulse control. Although self-reported impulsiveness has been positively associated with self-reports of risky driving, results based on objective measures of response inhibition (e.g., Go/No-go tasks) have been inconclusive. The present study examined interrelationships between measures of response inhibition, self-report impulsiveness scales, and responses to events during a simulated drive that were designed to detect impulsive, unsafe behaviours (e.g., turning across on-coming traffic). Participants were 72 first-year Psychology students. More speeding and "Unsafe" responding to critical events during simulated driving were associated with poorer impulse control as assessed by commission errors during a Go/No-Go task. These results consolidate evidence for a relationship between impulse control and risky driving amongst young drivers.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Impulse control; Impulsiveness; Risky driving; Young drivers