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Consistency Between the Subjective Perception of Feeling Indisposed, the Decision to Drive and Driving Performance

Received: 3 October 2016     Accepted: 11 October 2016     Published: 7 November 2016
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Abstract

Drivers’ health and fitness are essential issues in order to predict traffic crashes, taking into account that these characteristics are essential to perform this task correctly and safety. The purpose of this research was to analyze the frequency in which drivers who feel physically or emotionally unable to drive decide to perform this task, or not, under states of indisposition, as well as the perception of the effect that this indisposition had on driving. This cross-sectional study used a total sample of n=1200 (666 [56%] men and 534 [44%] women) Spanish drivers, who answered a questionnaire designed to collect data about their psychosocial characteristics, driving habits and perceptions about their driving performance and safety behaviors related with physical and mental health. The main selection criteria were to be in possession of any type of driving license for vehicles other than motorcycles and to drive frequently. The results showed that 62.5% of the participants that were not in perfect conditions to drive at times decided not to drive and 37.5% decided to use the vehicle. Furthermore, 16.5% of the starting sample experienced inappropriate psychophysical conditions while driving. In the group of drivers who decided to use the vehicle, 46.9% admitted that their driving was affected. It was determined that there is a substantial lack of correspondence between driver's perceptions and behaviors with respect to the impact of health conditions on crash risk, and a growing need to raise people’s awareness regarding this fact. A large number of drivers continue driving even when they are not in condition to do so, which is clearly a risky behavior. It seems necessary to implement preventive actions and measures oriented to raise appropriate public awareness about the risks derived from driving under an altered physical or emotional state.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 4, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.21
Page(s) 482-488
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Psychophysical Condition, Physical State, Emotional State, Driving Performance, Road Safety

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Francisco Alonso, Cristina Esteban, Jaime Sanmartín, Sergio A. Useche. (2016). Consistency Between the Subjective Perception of Feeling Indisposed, the Decision to Drive and Driving Performance. Science Journal of Public Health, 4(6), 482-488. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.21

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    ACS Style

    Francisco Alonso; Cristina Esteban; Jaime Sanmartín; Sergio A. Useche. Consistency Between the Subjective Perception of Feeling Indisposed, the Decision to Drive and Driving Performance. Sci. J. Public Health 2016, 4(6), 482-488. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.21

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    AMA Style

    Francisco Alonso, Cristina Esteban, Jaime Sanmartín, Sergio A. Useche. Consistency Between the Subjective Perception of Feeling Indisposed, the Decision to Drive and Driving Performance. Sci J Public Health. 2016;4(6):482-488. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.21

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.21,
      author = {Francisco Alonso and Cristina Esteban and Jaime Sanmartín and Sergio A. Useche},
      title = {Consistency Between the Subjective Perception of Feeling Indisposed, the Decision to Drive and Driving Performance},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {4},
      number = {6},
      pages = {482-488},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.21},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.21},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20160406.21},
      abstract = {Drivers’ health and fitness are essential issues in order to predict traffic crashes, taking into account that these characteristics are essential to perform this task correctly and safety. The purpose of this research was to analyze the frequency in which drivers who feel physically or emotionally unable to drive decide to perform this task, or not, under states of indisposition, as well as the perception of the effect that this indisposition had on driving. This cross-sectional study used a total sample of n=1200 (666 [56%] men and 534 [44%] women) Spanish drivers, who answered a questionnaire designed to collect data about their psychosocial characteristics, driving habits and perceptions about their driving performance and safety behaviors related with physical and mental health. The main selection criteria were to be in possession of any type of driving license for vehicles other than motorcycles and to drive frequently. The results showed that 62.5% of the participants that were not in perfect conditions to drive at times decided not to drive and 37.5% decided to use the vehicle. Furthermore, 16.5% of the starting sample experienced inappropriate psychophysical conditions while driving. In the group of drivers who decided to use the vehicle, 46.9% admitted that their driving was affected. It was determined that there is a substantial lack of correspondence between driver's perceptions and behaviors with respect to the impact of health conditions on crash risk, and a growing need to raise people’s awareness regarding this fact. A large number of drivers continue driving even when they are not in condition to do so, which is clearly a risky behavior. It seems necessary to implement preventive actions and measures oriented to raise appropriate public awareness about the risks derived from driving under an altered physical or emotional state.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Consistency Between the Subjective Perception of Feeling Indisposed, the Decision to Drive and Driving Performance
    AU  - Francisco Alonso
    AU  - Cristina Esteban
    AU  - Jaime Sanmartín
    AU  - Sergio A. Useche
    Y1  - 2016/11/07
    PY  - 2016
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.21
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    T2  - Science Journal of Public Health
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    JO  - Science Journal of Public Health
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    EP  - 488
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7950
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20160406.21
    AB  - Drivers’ health and fitness are essential issues in order to predict traffic crashes, taking into account that these characteristics are essential to perform this task correctly and safety. The purpose of this research was to analyze the frequency in which drivers who feel physically or emotionally unable to drive decide to perform this task, or not, under states of indisposition, as well as the perception of the effect that this indisposition had on driving. This cross-sectional study used a total sample of n=1200 (666 [56%] men and 534 [44%] women) Spanish drivers, who answered a questionnaire designed to collect data about their psychosocial characteristics, driving habits and perceptions about their driving performance and safety behaviors related with physical and mental health. The main selection criteria were to be in possession of any type of driving license for vehicles other than motorcycles and to drive frequently. The results showed that 62.5% of the participants that were not in perfect conditions to drive at times decided not to drive and 37.5% decided to use the vehicle. Furthermore, 16.5% of the starting sample experienced inappropriate psychophysical conditions while driving. In the group of drivers who decided to use the vehicle, 46.9% admitted that their driving was affected. It was determined that there is a substantial lack of correspondence between driver's perceptions and behaviors with respect to the impact of health conditions on crash risk, and a growing need to raise people’s awareness regarding this fact. A large number of drivers continue driving even when they are not in condition to do so, which is clearly a risky behavior. It seems necessary to implement preventive actions and measures oriented to raise appropriate public awareness about the risks derived from driving under an altered physical or emotional state.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • DATS (Development and Advising in Traffic Safety) Research Group, INTRAS (University Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

  • DATS (Development and Advising in Traffic Safety) Research Group, INTRAS (University Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

  • METRAS Research Group (Measurement, Evaluation, Analysis, and Data Processing of Traffic Accidents and Road Safety), INTRAS (University Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

  • DATS (Development and Advising in Traffic Safety) Research Group, INTRAS (University Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

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