Traffic Offending behaviour

The research on traffic offender’s focuses on the study of risk factors which characterized those drivers who violate the Law on Traffic, Motor Vehicle Circulation and Road Safety. This project is based on the determination of the specific risk profile that characterises this type of offenders, as well as on the adaptation of a risk assessment protocol that facilitates decision-making and intervention strategies. As a result, the Assessment Protocol on Infringing Drivers (PECI) was developed and adapted to the Galician context of offending drivers.

Main objective

The main objective was to develop a risk assessment protocol for offending drivers that could be used by professionals, both in road safety awareness and re-education courses as well as in road safety activities workshops to fulfill the penalty of work for the benefit of the community.

Specific objectives

Evaluate different risk factors related to traffic violations
Identify different risk profiles in traffic offenders
Evaluate the motivation for changing offending behaviours
Encourage the development of specific prevention strategies

Sample of study

The data collection was carried out between February and September 2016 and included an initial sample of 158 traffic offenders from the Autonomous Community of Galicia. In regard to the total sample, 108 were evaluated in seven TASEVAL workshops while the remaining 50 were evaluated in three Galician prisons. On the other hand, a community sample of 423 individuals was evaluated, being all of them drivers with more than two years of seniority in the B driving licence and younger than 70 years. A subsample of 81 participants was evaluated 5 months later in order to obtain reliability information from the measures used in the protocol.

Informants

The PECI was designed as a self-reported protocol to be filled by the target population. In this regard, the Protocol is composed of different self-report scales that assess both driving and offending behaviours, as well as other factors related to substance use, personality traits or motivation for change. The PECI also includes a motivational interview that must be guided by the professional responsible for the intervention. The interview is structured according to the results obtained in the self-reported part and aims to provide feedback on the results, favouring a more specific approach to the relevant variables in each case and encouraging the subject’s commitment to achieving the objectives.