title: Who are the traffic offenders among ethnic groups and why?
abstract: Marginalized populations, particularly ethnic minorities, are often at a higher risk of being involved in traffic crashes and committing traffic violations. Prominent explanations for this "ethnic traffic risk gap" include cultural and socioeconomic factors, usually measured at an aggregate level. In particular, it has been hypothesized that ethnic minorities commit traffic violations as a form of social resistance to what they perceive to be an oppressing regime. The current study examined the mechanisms underlying traffic violations at the individual level within a single ethnic minority, Israeli-Arabs. The study sample (n=231) included a group of known offenders (n=60) and non-offenders (n=171), all of which completed the Traffic Violation Questionnaire. The results show that offenders and non-offenders tended to have different types of occupations, although these did not translate into significant differences in level of income. Offenders reported significantly lower levels of trust in some hegemonic institutions (the police, government ministries) but not others (parliament, the juridical system). However, offenders displayed remarkably different daily activity patterns, including much higher exposure to traffic (3h/day vs. 0.75) and more complex trip patterns. Our results find little support for the social resistance hypothesis, as it fails to explain the differential treatment of hegemonic institutions. Daily activity patterns stand out as a central mechanism influencing the risk of violations. These results suggest policymakers should adopt a holistic approach for traffic safety interventions but avoid monolithic views of ethnic minorities which may lead to an inefficient use of resources.
authors.affiliation: Shamoon College of Engineering (SCE), Beer Sheva, Israel. Electronic address: wafae@technion.ac.il.
authors.forename: Wafa
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Elias
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Aharon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blank-Gomel
authors.affiliation: Aram-Engineers, Yagur, Israel.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Habib-Matar
authors.affiliation: Transportation Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Yoram
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shiftan
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D018912:Arabs / Q000523:psychology; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Daily-activity pattern; Ethnic risk gap; Social resistance; Traffic violations