Self-regulation in driving has primarily been studied as a precursor to driving cessation in older people, who minimize driving risk and compensate for physical and cognitive decline by avoiding driving in challenging circumstances, e.g. poor weather conditions, in the dark and at busy times. This research explores whether other demographic groups of drivers adopt self-regulatory behaviors and examines the effects of affective and instrumental attitudes on self-regulation across the lifespan. Quantitative data were collected from 395 drivers. Women were significantly more likely than men to engage in self-regulation, and to be negatively influenced by their emotions (affective attitude). A quadratic effect of age on self-regulation was determined such that younger and older drivers reported higher scores for self-regulation than middle-aged drivers. However, this effect was affected by experience such that when experience was controlled for, self-regulation increased with age. Nevertheless, anxious driving style and negative affective attitude were independent predictors of self-regulation behaviors. Results suggest that self-regulation behaviors are present across the driving lifespan and may occur as a result of driving anxiety or low confidence rather than as an effect of aging. (A) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Abstract