Confidence and the older driver

Abstract

A sample of 555 drivers aged 50 or more were assessed in terms of their confidence in a range of driving situations, self-ratings of their driving ability, self-reported driving behaviour, and personality as measured by Eysenck's EPQ. Levels of nervousness when driving were surprisingly low, although there was no evidence of unrealistic self-ratings of driving ability. Female drivers reported significantly fewer errors and intentional violations than did male drivers. Female drivers were also found to score higher on the Extroversion, Neuroticism and Lie scales than did males. However, the males in the sample scored higher on the Psychoticism scale than the females. Driving confidence was associated with the following: a low level of lapses and errors, and a high level of violations; a low score on the Neuroticism scale and a high score on the Extroversion scale; being male, and high annual mileage. Personality did not mediate the relationship between driving confidence and self-rated driving ability.