title: Beyond general behavioral theories: structural discrepancy in young motorcyclist's risky driving behavior and its policy implications.
abstract: While many studies examine the mean score differences of psychological determinants between heterogeneous driver groups, this study reveals a structural discrepancy in a causal behavioral framework. Using young motorcyclists (ages 18-28) as subjects, this study investigates the various roles of key influential factors in determining risky driving behavior. Multi-group analysis of structural equation modeling shows that age and gender are two factors that can effectively distinguish heterogeneous driver groups exhibiting different decision-making mechanisms in shaping their risky driving behaviors. When encountering undesirable traffic conditions, road rage can immediately increase male motorcyclists' intentions to engage in risky driving behaviors; on the other hand, young female motorcyclists further calculate their perceived risk to determine whether to engage in risky driving behaviors. This result shows that there is a significant link between risk perception and traffic condition awareness for experienced drivers (ages 25-28), but not for younger drivers (ages 18-24). This finding shows that while well-developed theories such as planned behavior and risk homeostasis provide general frameworks to explain risky driving behavior, heterogeneous driver groups may exhibit structural discrepancies that reflect their various decision-making mechanisms. This suggests that, in addition to mean differences, understanding structural discrepancies among heterogeneous groups could help researchers identify effective intervention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Kainan University, Logistics and Shipping Management, No.1 Kainan Road, Luzhu Shiang, Taoyuan 33857, Taiwan. yishih.chung@gmail.com
authors.forename: Yi-Shih
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Jinn-Tsai
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009049:Motorcycles; D010551:Personality; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011640:Public Policy; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult