Emotional intelligence and dangerous driving behaviors

Abstract

Dangerous driving behaviors are the leading cause of road crashes and fatalities. Many factors contribute to dangerous driving behaviors including drivers' beliefs, attitudes, personalities, and emotions. Of these, the role of emotions has received less attention. Emotional Intelligence theory provides a framework for understanding how individuals' emotional factors influence their behaviors and interactions with others. Therefore, this research aims to understand how emotional intelligence can be used to investigate and alleviate dangerous driving behaviors. The research aims of this dissertation include 1. Identify the most appropriate measure of emotional intelligence that is currently available for the driving context; 2. Examine the correlations between emotional intelligence and dangerous driving behaviors in different risk exposure groups (commercial and non-commercial drivers); 3. Develop an emotional intelligence measure specific to the context of driving. This research dissertation comprised four survey studies conducted between November 2019 to July 2021 among commercial and non-commercial drivers across the United States. The results further revealed higher emotional intelligence scores related to less dangerous driving behaviors for both commercial and non-commercial drivers. However, the relationship between emotional intelligence and dangerous driving was significantly stronger among commercial drivers than their non-commercial counterparts. In the final study, this research developed a new Drivers' Emotional Intelligence Scale (DEIS) specific to driving. Factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure for DEIS labeled as emotionality, self-control, and anxiety. The results showed that the DEIS subscales were stronger predictors of dangerous driving behaviors compared to the previously used emotional intelligence scales. This research concludes that improving emotional intelligence will be useful to reduce dangerous driving behaviors and suggests incorporating emotional intelligence to design interventions to reduce fatal road crashes. This research acknowledges some limitations such as the use of self-reported surveys and convenience quota samples, which may have limited the generalizability of these results. Future research should continue to gather evidence about the association between emotional intelligence and traffic safety through different experimental designs and longitudinal studies.