Chinese adaptation of the reckless driving behaviour scale: Testing its psychometric properties and links with safe driving climate among family and peers

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aimed to revise the Reckless Driving Behaviour Scale (RDBS) and examined its reliability and validity among young Chinese drivers. Methods: The RDBS, the Safe Driving Climate among Friends Scale (SDCaF), the Family Climate for Road Safety Scale (FCRSS) and a social desirability scale were administrated to 560 young drivers. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA, n = 250) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA, n = 250) were conducted to examine the factorial structure of the RDBS. Results: The Chinese version of the RDBS has 18 items that are divided into 4 factors: distraction, substance use, extreme behaviour and positioning. Both the results of EFA and CFA confirmed its factorial structure. The reliability of the RDBS was acceptable and the concurrent validity of the scale was supported by its significant associations with the SDCaF and FCRSS factors. Finally, drivers who had violation involvement scored higher on all four factors than their peers who did not have violation involvement, providing evidence for its known-group validity. Conclusion: The revised RDBS has similar structure with the original version and its reliability and validity were satisfactory. It is an effective tool to measure the reckless driving behaviour of young drivers in China and interventions that incorporated joint efforts of family and peers should be developed.

Keywords

• Young drivers
• Reckless driving
• Family climate
• Peer influence
• Traffic violations