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Level of occupational stress, personality and traffic incidents: Comparative study of public and freight transport drivers
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ScienceDirect Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000 ScienceDirect
Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Transportation Research Procedia 40 (2019) 1453–1458
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13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia (TRANSCOM 2019), High Tatras, Novy Smokovec – Grand Hotel Bellevue, Slovak Republic,on May 29-31, 2019 13th International Scientific Conference Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019), High Tatras, Novy Smokovec – Grand Hotel Bellevue, Level of occupational personality and traffic incidents: Slovakstress, Republic, May 29-31, 2019
Comparative study of public and freight transport drivers Level of occupational stress, personality and traffic incidents: a b Piotr Mamcarza*, Paulina Droździel , Lucia Madleňáková , Andrzej Sieradzkiadrivers , Paweł Droździelc Comparative study of public and freight transport The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Psychology Department, Racławickie 14 ave., Lublin 20-950, Poland
a
a a a b Piotr Mamcarz *,ofPaulina Droździel , Lucia Madleňáková , Andrzej , Paweł Droździelc University Žilina, Department of Communications, Univerzitná b8215/1, 010 26Sieradzki Žilina, Slovakia c Lublin University of Technology, Mechanical Engineering Faculty, 36 Nadbystrzycka str., Lublin 20-618, Poland The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Psychology Department, Racławickie 14 ave., Lublin 20-950, Poland b University of Žilina, Department of Communications, Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovakia c Lublin University of Technology, Mechanical Engineering Faculty, 36 Nadbystrzycka str., Lublin 20-618, Poland
a
Abstract
The matter of road safety is particularly important in modern transport systems. This is due to the fact that despite the high level of Abstract technical sophistication of transport safety systems, the number of road incidents is relatively high. Generally speaking, transport safety is understood as control over various possible traffic hazards. Road conditions or vehicles damage is not the only source of The of road safety is and particularly importanttraits in modern systems. is due to the that despitewhile the high level on of threatmatter in transport. Drivers their personality affect transport the occurrence of This risk situations andfact impediments driving technical sophistication of transport safety systems, the number of road incidents is relatively high. Generally speaking, transport public roads. Professional drivers should especially be characterized by their efficiency in controlling their reactions because they safety is understood as control over various possible hazards. Road conditions or vehicles is not the only of are responsible not only for transported goods but alsotraffic for other people. Subjective assessment of damage drivers' personality andsource the level threat in transport. Drivers and their personality traits affect the occurrence of risk situations and impediments while driving on of occupational stress may impact not only on their functioning but also the quality of driving and safe behaviors on the road. For public roads.studies Professional driversthe should especially be characterized theirand efficiency in professional controlling their reactions because they this reason, determining relationship between personalitybytraits stress in drivers are important. The are responsible not only for transported goods but also for other people. Subjective assessment of drivers' personality and the They level authors of the article attempted to define these relations using surveys among public and freight transport drivers (N=150). of occupational may companies impact not only functioning but alsoPrzedsiębiorstwo the quality of driving and safe behaviors the road. and For represented twostress transport from on thetheir Lublin City: Miejskie Komunikacji (City Buson Company) this reason, studies determining the relationship between personality traits and stress in professional drivers are important. The Poczta Polska (Polish Mail). Eysenck Impulsiveness-Venturesomeness-Empathy Questionnaire (Eysenck, 2006) and authors of the article attempted to define these relations using among (N=150). They Questionnaire for Subjective Assessment of Work (Dudek et. surveys al, 2004) were public used inand thefreight study. transport Based ondrivers the above-mentioned represented two transport companies from the Lublin City: Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji (City Bus Company) questionnaires, statistical analyses were carried out using specialized statistical software SPSS Statistics, based on which and the Poczta Polska (Polish Mail).traits Eysenck Questionnaire (Eysenck, 2006) and relationship between personality and theImpulsiveness-Venturesomeness-Empathy subjective assessment of occupational stress were determined. The results showed Questionnaire for Subjective Assessment of Work (Dudekresearch et. al, 2004) study. correlation Based on the above-mentioned that there are statistically significant differences between groupswere and used there in is the a positive between personality questionnaires, statistical analyses carried outtheusing specialized statistical software traits and work stress. Finally, there were was also found correlation between different types ofSPSS trafficStatistics, incidents.based on which the relationship between personality traits and the subjective assessment of occupational stress were determined. The results showed that2019 there areAuthors. statistically significant differences © The Published by Elsevier B.V. between research groups and there is a positive correlation between personality traits and work stress. Finally, there was also found the correlation between typesScientific of traffic incidents. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th different International Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Authors. Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019). © 2019 The Published by Elsevier B.V. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Peer-review responsibility of the scientific Modern and under Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019).committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 509630598; fax: +48 81 4453338. E-mail address: [email protected] * Corresponding Tel.: +48 509630598; fax: +48B.V. 81 4453338. 2352-1465 © 2018 author. The Authors. Published by Elsevier E-mail address: [email protected] Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Moder n and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019). 2352-1465 © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Moder n and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019). 2352-1465 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019). 10.1016/j.trpro.2019.07.201
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Piotr Mamcarz et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 40 (2019) 1453–1458 Mamcarz et al./ Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000
Keywords: personality, occupational stress, professional drivers; traffic incidents; safety; driving behaviours;
1. Introduction Road safety is not only a broad term but is also a fundamental element of the proper economical functioning of the transport sector. Road accidents are a serious problem worldwide (Goniewicz et al., 2016) and are one of the main causes of death, injury and disability (Ivers et al., 2016). Statistical data of the Statistics Poland (GUS) from 2017 shows that Poles working in the transport and warehouse management sector are ranked on sixth place in terms of an accident rate at work. These facts point to the need to conduct research in order to systematically improve factors that may affect road safety. Studies show that personality is a factor of significant importance for road safety (Mallia et al., 2015; Schwebel et al., 2007; Taubman – Ben-Ari et al., 2016). When external factors do not have a direct impact on the accident risk, personality traits directly influence the risky behavior of drivers and thus indirectly influence the probability of traffic incidents (Constantinou et al., 2011; Hudak and Madlenak, 2016). The term “personality” is very broad and varied. For the purposes of the article, attention has been paid to the impulsiveness and venturesomeness, which are personality traits. The level of impulsivity is important predictor of risky behavior in road traffic (Biçaksiz and Özkan, 2016; Dahlen et al., 2005). Studies have shown that risky driving correlates negatively with emotional control abilities (Arnau-Sabatés, Sala-Roca and Jariot-Garcia, 2012; Chan & Singhal, 2015). Poor emotional control have a negative impact on driver’s decisions making process and reaction times (George & Dane, 2016). The study also discloses the importance of stress level in drivers' work. Professional drivers are highly exposed to work-related stress factors (Hlotova, Cats and Meijer, 2014; Useche, Ortiz and Cendales, 2017). Stress influences drivers' accessibility to resources during driving (Taylor and Dorn, 2006). Personality traits can directly influence the stress level because they are associated with cognitive and emotional appraisals, which decide about stimuli impact and the coping style. The aim of the study was to analyze whether there are differences between the selected personality traits, stress and traffic incidents in the public and freight transport drivers groups. The following hypotheses were formulated for the purposes of this study: 1. Freight transport drivers will have a higher level of impulsiveness and venturesomeness than public transport drivers. 2.Drivers engaged in public transport will have a higher level of occupational stress than freight transport drivers. 3.There is a positive correlation between impulsiveness, venturesomeness, occupational stress and the number of traffic incidents. 2. Methods The first method used to verify formulated hypothesis is Polish version of Impulsiveness-VenturesomenessEmpathy Questionnaire (Eysenck & Eysenck, 2006), which is used to investigate three dimensions of personality: impulsiveness, venturesomeness and empathy. The questionnaire contains 54 items which can be answered on Yes or No scale. For the purposes of the article, the impulsiveness and venturesomeness were selected. The second method is the Questionnaire for Subjective Assessment of Work (Dudek et al, 2004), which allows to measure the general feeling of being overload by psychosocial factors at work. The questionnaire consists of 57 items describing the different characteristics of work. For each statement, there are numbers 1 to 5, which indicate the extent to which a feature is burdensome for the assessor. The General Occupational Stress Level is obtained by summing all items points. The survey also includes questions about age, gender, length of service and the number of negative traffic incidents.
Piotr Mamcarz et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 40 (2019) 1453–1458 Mamcarz et al./ Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000
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3. Sample Two groups of professional drivers (N=150), who work only in the area of the Lublin City, were surveyed. The main factor in the selection to the group was that the drivers were driving in the area of Lublin being part of the same road traffic (cf. Bachanova, Corejova, Rostasova, 2009; Drozdziel, Winska, Madlenak, Szumski, 2017). Final groups were two main transport companies: Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji (City Bus Company) (N=70) and Poczta Polska (Polish Mail) (N=54). The number of women was 8 and men 116. The average age of the respondents was 39.9 years (20-65 years). The median for length of service was 12 years, so the majority of drivers are experienced (range: 1-44 years). The respondents left due to illness on average 6 days during the one year period, which is a very good result in relation to other occupations (GUS, 2017). 4. Results The analyses were carried out using the SPSS Statistics package. Due to the lack of results normal distribution in the studied groups of drivers, selected non-parametric tests were used. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare differences and the Spearman's Rho test in case of correlation. The surveyed drivers achieved on average M=4.71 in the impulsiveness scale and M=7.51 in the venturesomeness scale. The median stress level in the group of drivers was Me=160 and coincided with the mean (M). The number of traffic incidents ranged from 0 to10 for car bumps (M=2.11), from 0 to 2 car accidents (M=0.39) and from 0 to 42 traffic tickets (M=2.42). Table 1. Average for traffic incidents and psychological factors (raw data) (N=124) Scales
M
Me
SD
Min
Max
Impulsiveness
4,71
4
3,77
0
17
Venturesomeness
7,52
7
3,87
0
15
Stress
159,56
160
22,18
105
224
Car bumps
2,11
2
1,75
0
10
Car accidents
0,39
0
0,56
0
2
Traffic tickets
2,43
1
4,81
0
42
M-Mean Me – median; SD – standard deviation
Public and freight transport drivers differ at a statistically significant level (p<0.001) in impulsiveness scale. Freight drivers achieved higher impulsiveness scores than public drivers. At the same level of significance (p<0.001) there are differences in the number of traffic tickets. Public drivers received fewer traffic tickets than freight drivers. The statistically significant (p<0.05) difference between the groups were observed in the stress level. Freight transport drivers experience higher stress level than public transport drivers. Table 2. Differences between bus drivers and freight drivers in the number of traffic incidents, personality and stress levels Kierowcy autobusów
Kierowcy towarowi
U Manna-Whitneya
M
SD
M
SD
Z
p
Impulsiveness
3,71
1,92
5,06
2,09
1155,5
0,000**
Venturesomeness
5,44
2,60
5,94
1,87
1713
0,368
Scales
Piotr Mamcarz et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 40 (2019) 1453–1458 Mamcarz et al./ Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000
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Stress
9,40
0,84
9,65
0,78
1525
0,026*
Car bumps
2,28
1,90
1,77
1,38
761,5
0,223
Car accidents
0,28
0,52
0,55
0,60
265,5
0,068
Traffic tickets
1,28
1,50
4,39
7,34
374,5
0,000**
M-Mean; SD – standard deviation
The highest positive correlation at the statistically significant level (p<0.01) appeared between the number of traffic tickets and car accidents. Equally significant positive correlation occurred between impulsiveness and venturesomeness. A positive correlation at the significance level (p<0.05) was revealed between car bumps and car accidents, as well as impulsiveness and occupational stress. Table 3. Correlation between traffic incidents, personality and stress levels. (rho Spearmana)
Scales
Car bumps
Car accidents
Traffic tickets
Venturesomeness
Car accidents
,279*
Traffic tickets
0,108
,451**
Venturesomeness
-0,039
-0,196
0,06
Impulsiveness
-0,177
0,084
0,107
,301**
Stress
0,028
-0,115
-0,021
0,051
Impulsiveness
,212*
5. Discussion The research aimed to capture the differences between public and freight transport drivers in relevant, from road safety perspective, psychological dimensions. Generally the results indicate significant differences between public and freight transport drivers. The first differentiating theoretical construct is personality, which is an crucial predictor of drivers' behavior in road traffic (Dahlen et al., 2005). Freight transport drivers were statistically significantly more impulsive than public transport drivers. Impulsiveness characterizes people who want strong new experiences, who make decisions without thinking about them, who feel comfortable in a risk environment and at the same time do not look at the consequences of their own actions. This trait correlates positively with MMPI-2 dimensions such as hypomania, anti-social attitudes and behaviors, anger and aggressiveness, and Eysenck's super factor "psychotism". On the other hand, there was no divergences between public transport drivers and freight transport drivers in venturesomeness. This trait characterizes people who are willing to take risks while being aware of the potential consequences of such behavior. It is positively correlated with Eysenck's super factor "extroversion" (Owsley, McGwin & McNeal, 2003). Based on the results, the first hypothesis can only be considered partially confirmed. The second differentiating theoretical construct is the level of occupational stress. Both groups of drivers achieved high stress scores (approx. 9 Sten), but at a statistically significant level, higher scores were achieved by freight drivers. Taking into account the number of stressors in the work of bus drivers the result is interesting (Urbanska et al., 2016). It can be justified by the fact that public transport drivers experience less stress because their routine route is the same, so their working environment is more stable. On a daily basis freight drivers have to travel on different routes (determined by the parcels, addressees), what resulting in uncertainty. Moreover, the public transport drivers are deprived of stress related to finding a parking spot in the city center, which is the everyday challenge of freight transport drivers. This is why they get more traffic tickets. Both groups work under time pressure, but it was assumed that the stressors, as contact with passengers, responsibility for human beings, aggression, uncertainty, would shift the balance to the disadvantage of public transport drivers (Bergomi et al., 2017). The second hypothesis can, therefore, be rejected.
Piotr Mamcarz et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 40 (2019) 1453–1458 Mamcarz et al./ Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000
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The analysis of the obtained data indicated positive correlations between variables. However, in the studied population, it was not possible to find strong correlation between the scores in impulsiveness, venturesomeness, stress and the number of car bumps, car accidents and traffic tickets (cf. Taylor & Dorn, 2006). However, a positive interrelationship between the number of car bumps, traffic tickets and car accidents has been confirmed, which indicates that minor traffic incidents are a good predictor risky behaviors (Biçaksiz & Özkan, 2016). Freight transport drivers at a statistically significant level had more traffic tickets than public transport drivers. The relationship between impulsiveness and occupational stress has been also confirmed. The third hypothesis can be rejected, but it is worth analyse the results of the correlation. 6. Limitations and implications The main objective has been achieved as there are differences between freight and public transport drivers. The research may be limited by the sample size (N=124). A larger sample allows for more in-depth analyses and interpretations, and enables the use of more powerful statistical tests. A limitation may also be the testing method for occupational stress, as it is only in Polish, which will make difficult to replicate the research abroad. In the future, it would be worthwhile to enrich the group of respondents with other drivers who saturate the population of public and freight transport drivers in Lublin (taxi drivers, suppliers, drivers of privileged vehicles, etc.) and compare their results with general population of drivers. References Arnau-Sabatés, L., Sala-Roca, J., & Jariot-Garcia, M. (2012). Emotional abilities as predictors of risky driving behavior among a cohort of middle aged drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.07.021 Bachanova, P. H., Corejova, T., Rostasova, M. (2009) The Green Issues of Postal Industry in Europe. In: Conference: 3rd Central European Conference in Regional Science. Kosice, Slovakia, Date: Oct 07-09, 2009, CERS 2009, Int. Conf. Proceedings – young scientists articles, Pages: 901-905 Bergomi, M., Modenese, A., Ferretti, E., Ferrari, A., Licitra, G., Vivoli, R., … Aggazzotti, G. (2017). Work-related stress and role of personality in a sample of Italian bus drivers. Work. http://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-172581 Biçaksiz, P., & Özkan, T. (2016). Impulsivity and driver behaviors, offences and accident involvement: A systematic review. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.06.001 Chan, M., & Singhal, A. (2015). Emotion matters: Implications for distracted driving. Safety Science.
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2014.10.002
Constantinou, E., Panayiotou, G., Konstantinou, N., Loutsiou-Ladd, A., & Kapardis, A. (2011). Risky and aggressive driving in young adults: Personality matters. Accident Analysis and Prevention. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.02.002 Dahlen, E. R., Martin, R. C., Ragan, K., & Kuhlman, M. M. (2005). Driving anger, sensation seeking, impulsiveness, and boredom proneness in the prediction of unsafe driving. Accident Analysis and Prevention. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2004.10.006 Drozdziel, P., Winska, M., Madlenak, R., Szumski, P., (2017). Optimization of the post logistics network and location of the local distribution center in selected area of the Lublin province. Procedia Engineering, Vol. 192, 130-135. Dudek B., Waszkowska M., Merecz D. (2004). Ochrona zdrowia pracowników przed skutkami stresu zawodowego. Instytut Medycyny Pracy, Łódź. Eysenck H. J., Eysenck S. B. G. (2006). Eysenck Impulsiveness Scale (IVE). Publisher: Pracownia Testów Psychologicznych PTP, Warsaw. George, J. M., & Dane, E. (2016). Affect, emotion, and decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
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Goniewicz, K., Goniewicz, M., Pawłowski, W., & Fiedor, P. (2016). Road accident rates: strategies and programmes for improving road traffic safety. European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-015-0544-6 Hlotova, Y., Cats, O., & Meijer, S. (2014). Measuring Bus Drivers’ Occupational Stress Under Changing Working Conditions. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. http://doi.org/10.3141/2415-02 Hudak, M., Madlenak, R., (2016). The research of driver's gaze at the traffic signs. CBU International Conference Proceedings 2016: Innovations in Science and Education, 896-899. Ivers, R., Brown, K., Norton, R., & Stevenson, M. (2016). Road Traffic Injuries. In International Encyclopedia of Public Health. http://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803678-5.00391-X Mallia, L., Lazuras, L., Violani, C., & Lucidi, F. (2015). Crash risk and aberrant driving behaviors among bus drivers: The role of personality and attitudes towards traffic safety. Accident Analysis and Prevention. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2015.03.034 Owsley, C., McGwin, G., & McNeal, S. F. (2003). Impact of impulsiveness, venturesomeness, and empathy on driving by older adults. Journal of Safety Research. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2003.09.013 Schwebel, D. C., Ball, K. K., Severson, J., Barton, B. K., Rizzo, M., & Viamonte, S. M. (2007). Individual difference factors in risky driving among older adults. Journal of Safety Research. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2007.04.005
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Taubman – Ben-Ari, O., Kaplan, S., Lotan, T., & Prato, C. G. (2016). The combined contribution of personality, family traits, and reckless driving intentions to young men’s risky driving: What role does anger play? Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.10.025 Taylor, A. H., & Dorn, L. (2006). Stress, fatigue, health, and risk of road traffic accidents among professional drivers: The Contribution of Physical Inactivity. Annual Review of Public Health. http://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.27.021405.102117 Urbanska, K., Zelazko, A., Domagalska, J., & Nowak, P. (2016). [Comparison of exposure to stress and analysis of ways of coping with stress among freight transport and public transport drivers]. Medycyna Pracy. http://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.13075/mp.5893.00384 Useche, S. A., Ortiz, V. G., & Cendales, B. E. (2017). Stress-related psychosocial factors at work, fatigue, and risky driving behavior in bus rapid transport (BRT) drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.04.023
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Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000 ScienceDirect
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Transportation Research Procedia 40 (2019) 1453–1458
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia (TRANSCOM 2019), High Tatras, Novy Smokovec – Grand Hotel Bellevue, Slovak Republic,on May 29-31, 2019 13th International Scientific Conference Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019), High Tatras, Novy Smokovec – Grand Hotel Bellevue, Level of occupational personality and traffic incidents: Slovakstress, Republic, May 29-31, 2019
Comparative study of public and freight transport drivers Level of occupational stress, personality and traffic incidents: a b Piotr Mamcarza*, Paulina Droździel , Lucia Madleňáková , Andrzej Sieradzkiadrivers , Paweł Droździelc Comparative study of public and freight transport The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Psychology Department, Racławickie 14 ave., Lublin 20-950, Poland
a
a a a b Piotr Mamcarz *,ofPaulina Droździel , Lucia Madleňáková , Andrzej , Paweł Droździelc University Žilina, Department of Communications, Univerzitná b8215/1, 010 26Sieradzki Žilina, Slovakia c Lublin University of Technology, Mechanical Engineering Faculty, 36 Nadbystrzycka str., Lublin 20-618, Poland The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Psychology Department, Racławickie 14 ave., Lublin 20-950, Poland b University of Žilina, Department of Communications, Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovakia c Lublin University of Technology, Mechanical Engineering Faculty, 36 Nadbystrzycka str., Lublin 20-618, Poland
a
Abstract
The matter of road safety is particularly important in modern transport systems. This is due to the fact that despite the high level of Abstract technical sophistication of transport safety systems, the number of road incidents is relatively high. Generally speaking, transport safety is understood as control over various possible traffic hazards. Road conditions or vehicles damage is not the only source of The of road safety is and particularly importanttraits in modern systems. is due to the that despitewhile the high level on of threatmatter in transport. Drivers their personality affect transport the occurrence of This risk situations andfact impediments driving technical sophistication of transport safety systems, the number of road incidents is relatively high. Generally speaking, transport public roads. Professional drivers should especially be characterized by their efficiency in controlling their reactions because they safety is understood as control over various possible hazards. Road conditions or vehicles is not the only of are responsible not only for transported goods but alsotraffic for other people. Subjective assessment of damage drivers' personality andsource the level threat in transport. Drivers and their personality traits affect the occurrence of risk situations and impediments while driving on of occupational stress may impact not only on their functioning but also the quality of driving and safe behaviors on the road. For public roads.studies Professional driversthe should especially be characterized theirand efficiency in professional controlling their reactions because they this reason, determining relationship between personalitybytraits stress in drivers are important. The are responsible not only for transported goods but also for other people. Subjective assessment of drivers' personality and the They level authors of the article attempted to define these relations using surveys among public and freight transport drivers (N=150). of occupational may companies impact not only functioning but alsoPrzedsiębiorstwo the quality of driving and safe behaviors the road. and For represented twostress transport from on thetheir Lublin City: Miejskie Komunikacji (City Buson Company) this reason, studies determining the relationship between personality traits and stress in professional drivers are important. The Poczta Polska (Polish Mail). Eysenck Impulsiveness-Venturesomeness-Empathy Questionnaire (Eysenck, 2006) and authors of the article attempted to define these relations using among (N=150). They Questionnaire for Subjective Assessment of Work (Dudek et. surveys al, 2004) were public used inand thefreight study. transport Based ondrivers the above-mentioned represented two transport companies from the Lublin City: Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji (City Bus Company) questionnaires, statistical analyses were carried out using specialized statistical software SPSS Statistics, based on which and the Poczta Polska (Polish Mail).traits Eysenck Questionnaire (Eysenck, 2006) and relationship between personality and theImpulsiveness-Venturesomeness-Empathy subjective assessment of occupational stress were determined. The results showed Questionnaire for Subjective Assessment of Work (Dudekresearch et. al, 2004) study. correlation Based on the above-mentioned that there are statistically significant differences between groupswere and used there in is the a positive between personality questionnaires, statistical analyses carried outtheusing specialized statistical software traits and work stress. Finally, there were was also found correlation between different types ofSPSS trafficStatistics, incidents.based on which the relationship between personality traits and the subjective assessment of occupational stress were determined. The results showed that2019 there areAuthors. statistically significant differences © The Published by Elsevier B.V. between research groups and there is a positive correlation between personality traits and work stress. Finally, there was also found the correlation between typesScientific of traffic incidents. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th different International Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Authors. Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019). © 2019 The Published by Elsevier B.V. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Peer-review responsibility of the scientific Modern and under Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019).committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 509630598; fax: +48 81 4453338. E-mail address: [email protected] * Corresponding Tel.: +48 509630598; fax: +48B.V. 81 4453338. 2352-1465 © 2018 author. The Authors. Published by Elsevier E-mail address: [email protected] Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Moder n and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019). 2352-1465 © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Moder n and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019). 2352-1465 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019). 10.1016/j.trpro.2019.07.201
1454 2
Piotr Mamcarz et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 40 (2019) 1453–1458 Mamcarz et al./ Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000
Keywords: personality, occupational stress, professional drivers; traffic incidents; safety; driving behaviours;
1. Introduction Road safety is not only a broad term but is also a fundamental element of the proper economical functioning of the transport sector. Road accidents are a serious problem worldwide (Goniewicz et al., 2016) and are one of the main causes of death, injury and disability (Ivers et al., 2016). Statistical data of the Statistics Poland (GUS) from 2017 shows that Poles working in the transport and warehouse management sector are ranked on sixth place in terms of an accident rate at work. These facts point to the need to conduct research in order to systematically improve factors that may affect road safety. Studies show that personality is a factor of significant importance for road safety (Mallia et al., 2015; Schwebel et al., 2007; Taubman – Ben-Ari et al., 2016). When external factors do not have a direct impact on the accident risk, personality traits directly influence the risky behavior of drivers and thus indirectly influence the probability of traffic incidents (Constantinou et al., 2011; Hudak and Madlenak, 2016). The term “personality” is very broad and varied. For the purposes of the article, attention has been paid to the impulsiveness and venturesomeness, which are personality traits. The level of impulsivity is important predictor of risky behavior in road traffic (Biçaksiz and Özkan, 2016; Dahlen et al., 2005). Studies have shown that risky driving correlates negatively with emotional control abilities (Arnau-Sabatés, Sala-Roca and Jariot-Garcia, 2012; Chan & Singhal, 2015). Poor emotional control have a negative impact on driver’s decisions making process and reaction times (George & Dane, 2016). The study also discloses the importance of stress level in drivers' work. Professional drivers are highly exposed to work-related stress factors (Hlotova, Cats and Meijer, 2014; Useche, Ortiz and Cendales, 2017). Stress influences drivers' accessibility to resources during driving (Taylor and Dorn, 2006). Personality traits can directly influence the stress level because they are associated with cognitive and emotional appraisals, which decide about stimuli impact and the coping style. The aim of the study was to analyze whether there are differences between the selected personality traits, stress and traffic incidents in the public and freight transport drivers groups. The following hypotheses were formulated for the purposes of this study: 1. Freight transport drivers will have a higher level of impulsiveness and venturesomeness than public transport drivers. 2.Drivers engaged in public transport will have a higher level of occupational stress than freight transport drivers. 3.There is a positive correlation between impulsiveness, venturesomeness, occupational stress and the number of traffic incidents. 2. Methods The first method used to verify formulated hypothesis is Polish version of Impulsiveness-VenturesomenessEmpathy Questionnaire (Eysenck & Eysenck, 2006), which is used to investigate three dimensions of personality: impulsiveness, venturesomeness and empathy. The questionnaire contains 54 items which can be answered on Yes or No scale. For the purposes of the article, the impulsiveness and venturesomeness were selected. The second method is the Questionnaire for Subjective Assessment of Work (Dudek et al, 2004), which allows to measure the general feeling of being overload by psychosocial factors at work. The questionnaire consists of 57 items describing the different characteristics of work. For each statement, there are numbers 1 to 5, which indicate the extent to which a feature is burdensome for the assessor. The General Occupational Stress Level is obtained by summing all items points. The survey also includes questions about age, gender, length of service and the number of negative traffic incidents.
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3. Sample Two groups of professional drivers (N=150), who work only in the area of the Lublin City, were surveyed. The main factor in the selection to the group was that the drivers were driving in the area of Lublin being part of the same road traffic (cf. Bachanova, Corejova, Rostasova, 2009; Drozdziel, Winska, Madlenak, Szumski, 2017). Final groups were two main transport companies: Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji (City Bus Company) (N=70) and Poczta Polska (Polish Mail) (N=54). The number of women was 8 and men 116. The average age of the respondents was 39.9 years (20-65 years). The median for length of service was 12 years, so the majority of drivers are experienced (range: 1-44 years). The respondents left due to illness on average 6 days during the one year period, which is a very good result in relation to other occupations (GUS, 2017). 4. Results The analyses were carried out using the SPSS Statistics package. Due to the lack of results normal distribution in the studied groups of drivers, selected non-parametric tests were used. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare differences and the Spearman's Rho test in case of correlation. The surveyed drivers achieved on average M=4.71 in the impulsiveness scale and M=7.51 in the venturesomeness scale. The median stress level in the group of drivers was Me=160 and coincided with the mean (M). The number of traffic incidents ranged from 0 to10 for car bumps (M=2.11), from 0 to 2 car accidents (M=0.39) and from 0 to 42 traffic tickets (M=2.42). Table 1. Average for traffic incidents and psychological factors (raw data) (N=124) Scales
M
Me
SD
Min
Max
Impulsiveness
4,71
4
3,77
0
17
Venturesomeness
7,52
7
3,87
0
15
Stress
159,56
160
22,18
105
224
Car bumps
2,11
2
1,75
0
10
Car accidents
0,39
0
0,56
0
2
Traffic tickets
2,43
1
4,81
0
42
M-Mean Me – median; SD – standard deviation
Public and freight transport drivers differ at a statistically significant level (p<0.001) in impulsiveness scale. Freight drivers achieved higher impulsiveness scores than public drivers. At the same level of significance (p<0.001) there are differences in the number of traffic tickets. Public drivers received fewer traffic tickets than freight drivers. The statistically significant (p<0.05) difference between the groups were observed in the stress level. Freight transport drivers experience higher stress level than public transport drivers. Table 2. Differences between bus drivers and freight drivers in the number of traffic incidents, personality and stress levels Kierowcy autobusów
Kierowcy towarowi
U Manna-Whitneya
M
SD
M
SD
Z
p
Impulsiveness
3,71
1,92
5,06
2,09
1155,5
0,000**
Venturesomeness
5,44
2,60
5,94
1,87
1713
0,368
Scales
Piotr Mamcarz et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 40 (2019) 1453–1458 Mamcarz et al./ Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000
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Stress
9,40
0,84
9,65
0,78
1525
0,026*
Car bumps
2,28
1,90
1,77
1,38
761,5
0,223
Car accidents
0,28
0,52
0,55
0,60
265,5
0,068
Traffic tickets
1,28
1,50
4,39
7,34
374,5
0,000**
M-Mean; SD – standard deviation
The highest positive correlation at the statistically significant level (p<0.01) appeared between the number of traffic tickets and car accidents. Equally significant positive correlation occurred between impulsiveness and venturesomeness. A positive correlation at the significance level (p<0.05) was revealed between car bumps and car accidents, as well as impulsiveness and occupational stress. Table 3. Correlation between traffic incidents, personality and stress levels. (rho Spearmana)
Scales
Car bumps
Car accidents
Traffic tickets
Venturesomeness
Car accidents
,279*
Traffic tickets
0,108
,451**
Venturesomeness
-0,039
-0,196
0,06
Impulsiveness
-0,177
0,084
0,107
,301**
Stress
0,028
-0,115
-0,021
0,051
Impulsiveness
,212*
5. Discussion The research aimed to capture the differences between public and freight transport drivers in relevant, from road safety perspective, psychological dimensions. Generally the results indicate significant differences between public and freight transport drivers. The first differentiating theoretical construct is personality, which is an crucial predictor of drivers' behavior in road traffic (Dahlen et al., 2005). Freight transport drivers were statistically significantly more impulsive than public transport drivers. Impulsiveness characterizes people who want strong new experiences, who make decisions without thinking about them, who feel comfortable in a risk environment and at the same time do not look at the consequences of their own actions. This trait correlates positively with MMPI-2 dimensions such as hypomania, anti-social attitudes and behaviors, anger and aggressiveness, and Eysenck's super factor "psychotism". On the other hand, there was no divergences between public transport drivers and freight transport drivers in venturesomeness. This trait characterizes people who are willing to take risks while being aware of the potential consequences of such behavior. It is positively correlated with Eysenck's super factor "extroversion" (Owsley, McGwin & McNeal, 2003). Based on the results, the first hypothesis can only be considered partially confirmed. The second differentiating theoretical construct is the level of occupational stress. Both groups of drivers achieved high stress scores (approx. 9 Sten), but at a statistically significant level, higher scores were achieved by freight drivers. Taking into account the number of stressors in the work of bus drivers the result is interesting (Urbanska et al., 2016). It can be justified by the fact that public transport drivers experience less stress because their routine route is the same, so their working environment is more stable. On a daily basis freight drivers have to travel on different routes (determined by the parcels, addressees), what resulting in uncertainty. Moreover, the public transport drivers are deprived of stress related to finding a parking spot in the city center, which is the everyday challenge of freight transport drivers. This is why they get more traffic tickets. Both groups work under time pressure, but it was assumed that the stressors, as contact with passengers, responsibility for human beings, aggression, uncertainty, would shift the balance to the disadvantage of public transport drivers (Bergomi et al., 2017). The second hypothesis can, therefore, be rejected.
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The analysis of the obtained data indicated positive correlations between variables. However, in the studied population, it was not possible to find strong correlation between the scores in impulsiveness, venturesomeness, stress and the number of car bumps, car accidents and traffic tickets (cf. Taylor & Dorn, 2006). However, a positive interrelationship between the number of car bumps, traffic tickets and car accidents has been confirmed, which indicates that minor traffic incidents are a good predictor risky behaviors (Biçaksiz & Özkan, 2016). Freight transport drivers at a statistically significant level had more traffic tickets than public transport drivers. The relationship between impulsiveness and occupational stress has been also confirmed. The third hypothesis can be rejected, but it is worth analyse the results of the correlation. 6. Limitations and implications The main objective has been achieved as there are differences between freight and public transport drivers. The research may be limited by the sample size (N=124). A larger sample allows for more in-depth analyses and interpretations, and enables the use of more powerful statistical tests. A limitation may also be the testing method for occupational stress, as it is only in Polish, which will make difficult to replicate the research abroad. In the future, it would be worthwhile to enrich the group of respondents with other drivers who saturate the population of public and freight transport drivers in Lublin (taxi drivers, suppliers, drivers of privileged vehicles, etc.) and compare their results with general population of drivers. References Arnau-Sabatés, L., Sala-Roca, J., & Jariot-Garcia, M. (2012). Emotional abilities as predictors of risky driving behavior among a cohort of middle aged drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.07.021 Bachanova, P. H., Corejova, T., Rostasova, M. (2009) The Green Issues of Postal Industry in Europe. In: Conference: 3rd Central European Conference in Regional Science. Kosice, Slovakia, Date: Oct 07-09, 2009, CERS 2009, Int. Conf. Proceedings – young scientists articles, Pages: 901-905 Bergomi, M., Modenese, A., Ferretti, E., Ferrari, A., Licitra, G., Vivoli, R., … Aggazzotti, G. (2017). Work-related stress and role of personality in a sample of Italian bus drivers. Work. http://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-172581 Biçaksiz, P., & Özkan, T. (2016). Impulsivity and driver behaviors, offences and accident involvement: A systematic review. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.06.001 Chan, M., & Singhal, A. (2015). Emotion matters: Implications for distracted driving. Safety Science.
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