Citation:
A. af Wåhlberga, L. Dorn & T. Kline, The Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire as predictor of road traffic
accidents, Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, Volume 12, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 66-86.
Abstract:
The Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) has mainly been used as predictor of
self-reported road traffic accidents. The associations between crashes and the
violation and error factors of the DBQ however, may be spuriously high due to
reporting bias. In the present study, the DBQ was tested as predictor of self-
reported and recorded accidents in four samples of private and professional
drivers. The findings show that the DBQ scale only predicts self-reported
accidents, not recorded crashes, despite the higher validity of company data,
and the higher means of the recorded data across these samples. The results can
be explained by a common method variance bias. In our review of the DBQ
research, the use of the instrument was found to be heterogeneous concerning the
number of items, scales used, and factor analytic methods applied. Thus, the DBQ
may not be as homogenous and as successful in predicting accidents as is often
claimed.