DATS (Development and Advising in Traffic Safety) Research Group, INTRAS (Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
PLoS One. 2021 Jul 19;16(7):e0254823. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254823. eCollection 2021.
Mechanical conditions of vehicles may play a determinant role in driving safety, the reason why vehicle periodical technical inspections (VTIs) are mandatory in many countries. However, the high number of drivers sanctioned for not complying with this regulation is surprisingly high, and there is not much evidence on what kind(s) of motives may explain this concerning panorama. This study aimed to identify the aspects that modulate the relationship between complying (or not) with VTI's standards in a nationwide sample of Spanish drivers. The study design also addressed the drivers' awareness regarding different risky behaviors while driving, depending on their sex and their crash record.
1,100 Spanish drivers completed a survey on the aforementioned issues. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni post-hoc adjustment was conducted to assess significant differences (p<0.05) in the study variables.
Most of the surveyed drivers (99.18%) reported that they always comply with VTI's requirements. The main reasons to comply were related to compliance with traffic regulation and fear of penalties, while the reasons attributed to its incompliance are, instead, stated as involuntary.
The findings of this study support the idea that more actions are needed to increase drivers' awareness of the relevance of VTIs for road safety, as well as warning them about the dangers of neglecting vehicle checking beyond merely punishing measures. For this reason and given the greater prevalence of the issue among younger segments of the driving population, it is suggested that more emphasis on the matter could be made during novice driver's training.
车辆的机械状况可能对驾驶安全起着决定性作用，这也是许多国家强制实施车辆定期技术检验（VTI）的原因。然而，令人惊讶的是，有大量司机因不遵守这项规定而受到处罚，而且对于哪些动机可以解释这种情况，目前还没有太多证据。本研究旨在确定在西班牙全国性司机样本中，调节遵守（或不遵守）VTI 标准的关系的因素。该研究设计还针对不同性别和事故记录的司机在驾驶时的不同危险行为的意识进行了研究。
1100 名西班牙司机完成了关于上述问题的调查。采用方差分析（ANOVA）和 Bonferroni 事后调整进行分析，以评估研究变量的显著差异（p<0.05）。
大多数接受调查的司机（99.18%）表示他们总是遵守 VTI 的要求。遵守的主要原因与遵守交通规则和害怕罚款有关，而不遵守的原因则被认为是不自觉的。
本研究的结果支持这样一种观点，即需要采取更多行动来提高司机对 VTI 对道路安全重要性的认识，同时警告他们忽视车辆检查的危险，而不仅仅是惩罚措施。出于这个原因，并且考虑到这个问题在年轻司机群体中更为普遍，建议在新手司机培训中更加重视这个问题。
