In the last decade, the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behaviour have been applied to a wide range of violations including driving while intoxicated, speeding, close following, illegal parking, overtaking and others. The two most prolific research groups have been the University of Manchester in England (UK) and the Traffic Research Centre of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, while comparable studies have been carried out at the University of Uppsala and the University of Valencia and elsewhere. Although the target behaviour of the studies varied, they have in common the fact that they adhered to the methodology as outlined by the theory of reasoned action and its successor the theory of planned behaviour, in the sense that attitudes and social norm were measured in accord with these theories. Fortunately, the theory of planned behaviour is an extension to rather than a modification of the theory of reasoned action which allows a comparison of the studies in terms of attitude and social norm irrespective of the theory on which the measurements were based. While the theoretical orientation of the studies was more or less identical, the societal and legal conditions were not. Cultural differences in driving style - even within Europe - have consistently been established. In a comparison between four European countries, Rothengatter found substantial differences in attitudes towards law violations, which, incidentally, tally with the accident risk of these countries. The issue that is addressed in the present chapter is whether and to what extent the findings of attitude studies in different European countries can be generalised across these countries.
Abstract