title: Effects of personality on risky driving behavior and accident involvement for Chinese drivers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of injury-related fatalities in China and pose the most serious threat to driving safety. Driver personality is considered as an effective predictor for risky driving behavior and accident liability. Previous studies have focused on the relationship between personality and risky driving behavior, but only a few of them have explored the effects of personality variables on accident involvement. In addition, few studies have examined the effects of personality on Chinese drivers' risky driving and accident involvement. The present study aimed to examine the effects of personality variables on Chinese drivers' unsafe driving behaviors and accident involvement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and twenty-four Chinese drivers aged 20 to 50 were required to complete questionnaires assessing their personality traits (anger, sensation-seeking, altruism, and normlessness), risky driving behaviors (aggressive violations, ordinary violations), and accident involvement (all accidents, serious accidents, at-fault accidents). Multivariate regression analyses, adjusting for gender, age, and overall mileage, were conducted to identify the personality traits related to risky driving behaviors and accident involvement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants' personality traits were found to be significantly correlated with both risky driving behavior and accident involvement. Specifically, the traits of anger and normlessness were effective predictors for aggressive violations. The traits of anger, sensation-seeking, normlessness, and altruism were effective predictors for ordinary violations. Moreover, altruism and normlessness were significant predictors for the total number of accidents participants had during the past 3 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consistent with previous studies, the present study revealed that personality traits play an important role in predicting Chinese drivers' risky driving behaviors. In addition, Chinese drivers' personality characteristics were also associated with accident involvement.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiaoyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Weina
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Zhun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Xianghong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult