How are sociodemographic differences contributing to red light violation behavior? the underlying role of gender, age, driving experience, and income

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the results of the first driver behavior questionnaire (DBQ) study on analyzing Indian drivers’ aberrant behavior for red light violations (RLVs) at signalized junctions. An ordered probit model is developed using the drivers’ socio-demographic variables. The model results indicate that age has the strongest influence on drivers’ RLV behavior, followed by driving experience and level of education. The level of perceived RLV appears to increase with higher driving frequency and two-wheeler ownership. This research is also the first to analyze the aberrant behavior differences among male and female drivers concerning their demographics and driving experiences. It is unique to note that at a certain combination of various demographics (e.g., driving experience, education level, and daily trip frequency), the men and women are becoming equal in their aberrant behavior while committing RLVs. This finding is an interesting input for developing driver training and education programs.

KEYWORDS:

• Drivers’ red-light violations (Rlv’s)
• Driver behavior questionnaire (DBQ)
• ordered probit
• socio-demographic variables
• marginal effects

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank all the anonymous drivers who participated in the survey and students who helped us in data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was partially supported through the Research Initiation Grant [RIG Head 06/03/302] by Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, India.