Structural interrelationships of safety climate, stress, inattention and aberrant driving behavior for bus drivers in Taiwan

This research aimed to develop theoretically and empirically a hierarchical linear model that captures interrelationships between bus drivers’ aberrant driving behavior, on the one hand, and three influential factors, on the other hand. The influential factors studied are safety climate, stress, and inattention. This theoretical framework then was used to explore how it could help to prevent fatal accidents through reduction of aberrant driving behavior by occupational bus drivers. Measures adopted from a driver behavior questionnaire, driver behavior inventory, attention-related driving error scale, and safety climate questionnaire were used after screening. Data were collected from 1140 respondents in 30 bus companies in Taiwan. A ten-step procedure is developed for testing nine hypotheses. Results supported all the hypotheses within the proposed cross-sectional modeling framework showing that the direct effect of safety climate, stress and inattention on aberrant driving behavior in a bus company is critical. Further, mediation by safety-focused cognitive and emotional engagement by drivers to improve safety performance cannot be overlooked. A 2018 revision to Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act concerns the reduction of bus drivers’ aberrant driving behavior; the expected benefit thus produced in terms of traffic safety is discussed. To realize the potential benefit and also eliminate negative effects of the amendment upon the national economy and mitigate inconvenience thus incurred to people’s daily life, a follow-up study is required.