title: Perceived descriptive safety-related driving norms within and outside Arab towns and villages in Israel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Involvement in car crashes is higher among Israeli Arabs compared to Jews. This study characterized perceived descriptive driving norms (PDDNs) within and outside Arab towns/villages and estimated their association with involvement in car crashes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Arab drivers (594) living in 19 towns and villages were interviewed in face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire included questions about involvement in car crashes, PDDNs within and outside the towns/villages, attitudes toward traffic safety laws, traffic law violations, and socioeconomic and demographic variables. PDDNs represent individuals' perceptions on how safe other people typically drive. The low scores indicate a low percentage of drivers performing unsafe behaviors (safer driving-related norms). A structural equation modeling analysis was applied to identify factors associated with PDDNs and involvement in car crashes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A large difference was found in PDDNs within and outside the towns/villages. Mostly, the respondents reported higher rates of unsafe PDDNs within the towns/villages (mean = 3.76, SD = 0.63) and lower rates of PDDNs outside the towns/villages (mean = 2.12, SD = 0.60). PDDNs outside the towns/villages were associated with involvement in a car crash (r = -0.12, P <.01), but those within the towns/villages were not. Within the towns/villages, attitudes toward traffic laws and PDDNs were positively associated with traffic law violations (r = 0.56, P <.001; r = 0.11, P <.001 respectively), where traffic law violations were directly associated with involvement in a car crash (r = -0.14, P <.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Unsafe PDDNs may add directly and indirectly to unsafe driving and involvement in car crashes in Arab Israelis. Because PDDNs outside towns/villages were better, increased law enforcement within towns/villages may improve these norms and decrease involvement in car crashes.
authors: a School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies, University of Haifa , Mount Carmel , Israel.
authors: Orna
authors: O
authors: Baron-Epel
authors: b Nursing Department , The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College , Israel.
authors: Samira
authors: S
authors: Obid
authors: a School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies, University of Haifa , Mount Carmel , Israel.
authors: Shahar
authors: S
authors: Fertig
authors: c Ran Naor Road Safety Research Center, Technion, Israel; Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City , Haifa , Israel.
authors: Victoria
authors: V
authors: Gitelman
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D018912:Arabs / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012449:Safety; D066262:Social Norms / Q000208:ethnology*
keywords: Arabs; Israel; attitudes toward traffic laws; car crash; driving; perceived descriptive norms