Gender Effects in Young Road Users on Road Safety Attitudes, Behaviors and Risk Perception

Abstract

In the present study, we investigated gender-related effects on road safety attitudes in 2681 young drivers (1458 males, 54.4%; aged 18–22) who filled out several scales assessing attitudes toward road safety issues, driving behavior in specific hypothetical situations, accident risk perception, and concerns about such a risk. We focused only on young drivers to better understand the role of gender in road safety attitudes in a period of life in which risky behaviors are widespread for males and females. Indeed, there is still no agreement as to the nature of these gender differences. According to some authors, the effects of gender on being involved in a crash due to driving skills are either non-existent or largely explained by differences in alcohol consumption. In our study, we found gender differences in road safety attitudes (i.e., “negative attitude toward traffic rules and risky driving”; “negative attitude toward drugs and alcohol” and “tolerance toward speeding”) and in driver behavior (i.e., “errors in inattentive driving” and “driving violations”). This result is consistent in all drivers coming from nine different European countries. Our analyses yielded an important finding concerning risk perception. The results indicate that the level of risk perception during driving is the same for males and females. However, these two groups differ in the level of concern about this risk, with males being less concerned about the risk of a road accident. This suggests that the main difference between these two groups is not strictly related to judgment of the perceived risk probability but rather to the level of concern experienced about the consequences of the risk. This difference between risk perception and worry could explain differences in the frequency of car accidents in the two groups. The present findings may provide new insights for the development of gender-based prevention programs.

Driving attitudes, behaviours, risk perception and risk concern among young student car-drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians in various EU countries

“…We add that in all ANOVA comparisons on road users, we wanted to evaluate the potential gender effects. Numerous studies showed the gender-related effects on road safety attitudes (Classen, Wang, Crizzle, Winter, & Lanford, 2012), in particular in young drivers (Cordellieri et al, 2016). Although our results confirm that male young drivers are more prone to accept speeding, traffic violations and drugs and alcohol use by the driver, these effects do not significantly affect the differences among road users.…”

Magnitude of road traffic accident related injuries and fatalities in Ethiopia

“…Studies also documented clear variations in the accident involvement and risky driving behaviors between the two genders in favor of females [25,[29][30][31]. Though males are frequently considered as skilled drivers, they often engage in risky behaviors including trespassing speed limits, reckless overtaking, non-use of seatbelts and driving under the influence of alcohol [25,29].…”

“…Though males are frequently considered as skilled drivers, they often engage in risky behaviors including trespassing speed limits, reckless overtaking, non-use of seatbelts and driving under the influence of alcohol [25,29]. Male drivers also tend to have lower attention, impatience and risk perception than females [25,30].…”

Lesiones por accidentes de tránsito en una institución de salud en el municipio de Pereira entre los años 2014-2017

“…Sin embargo, actualmente no se conoce bien los motivos de esta asociación, se han planteado diversas hipótesis en comparación con las mujeres, los peatones masculinos están involucrados en colisiones de mayor severidad intrínseca. Por ejemplo, se ha informado de colisiones nocturnas en las que los hombres pueden verse involucrados con mayor frecuencia, porque las mujeres tienden a caminar o transitar menos en horas nocturnas y en muchas ocasiones estas colisiones son más severas que las que ocurren durante el día (15,16) .…”