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Association between leisure activity and risky driving behaviour in young drivers in Canada

University of British Columbia

Background: There are myriad risk factors for risky driving behaviour in youth. Perceived environment which is defined as the perception of driving risk and norms is the most complex factor. Leisure activities are a central part of youth’s daily lives that can substantially shape the driving perceived environment by providing the platform for interaction with peers, family, society, and media. However, the potential relationship between leisure activities and risky driving behaviour has seldom been studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between various leisure activities and risky driving behaviour among young drivers in Canada. Methods: An online survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Participants aged 16–24 years were approached through Facebook advertisements. The survey comprised of four questionnaires, namely, sociodemographic, personality trait (Mini-IPIP), leisure activities, and Behaviour Young Novice Driver Scale (BYNDS). Chi-square test examined differences between the driver group and proportional odds logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between the predictor variables and risky driving behaviour. Results: Participants (n=964), aged 18.34±2.31, were grouped into high risk (46.9%), medium risk (32.4%), and low risk (20.7%) drivers. Those with higher levels of drug engagement (OR=2.09, CI 95%=1.21-3.71), time with friends (OR=1.98, CI 95%=1.46-2.68), social media engagement (OR=1.83, CI 95%=1.34-2.49), and movie watching engagement (OR=1.52, CI 95%=1.00-2.31) tended to manifest more risky driving behaviour. In contrast, those with high levels of reading/writing engagement (OR=0.60, CI 95%= 0.42-0.85), volunteering engagement (OR=0.60, CI 95%=0.36-0.96), and playing video game engagement (OR=0.56, CI 95%=0.38-0.81) were less likely to perform risky driving behaviour. Other factors such as owning a car (OR=3.01, CI 95% 2.21-4.11), being male (OR=2.52, CI 95%=1.85-3.42), being simultaneously employed and a student, (OR=1.58, CI 95%=1.16-2.16), high driving exposure (OR=2.58, CI 95%=1.54-4.41), high neuroticism (OR=1.83, CI 95%=1.23-2.73), high extroversion (OR=1.60, CI 95%=1.09-2.35), and low imagination (OR=1.53, CI 95%=1.01-2.34) increased the likelihood of risky driving behaviour. Conclusions: This study provides new insight and explores the association between leisure activities and risky driving behaviour. Results from this study could be used to further explore leisure activities as a potential determinant of risky driving behaviour in future injury prevention research.

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2021-01-13

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/77076

Experimental Medicine

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/