Cranfield University

Project

The development and validation of a psychometric measure of bus driver behaviour

Sponsor

Arriva Passenger Services Ltd, Department of Trade and Industry and Economic and Social Research Council

Synopsis

Arriva Passenger Services Ltd recognised that they needed to find a way to select bus drivers that were more psychologically suited for the demands of driving a bus. The three-year research programme developed and validated a psychometric test of bus driver behaviour called the BDRI (Bus Driver Risk Index). Research showed that the BDRI was predictive of absenteeism, turnover and accident involvement and that it was a reliable measure of bus driver behaviour. Furthermore, some predictive capacity concerning accidents seems to be evident. Research showed consistent effects for two of the scales on bus accidents in a predictable direction. In a validation study, Avoidance coping was found to be significantly associated with celeration in a bus simulator, especially when the driver was under time pressure. Different driving task conditions are likely to generate different patterns of associations between the simulator parameters and the BDRI scales. During training, the risk of adopting this behavioural and psychological response to time pressure is being addressed within the company. Feeding back individual BDRI responses in comparison to the norm may raise awareness of the behaviours and target certain behaviours for training. An evaluation of this kind of approach to bus driver stress management training is currently underway within Arriva.

Reports and Publications

Dorn, L. Garwood, L. and Muncie, H. (2003). The accidents and behaviours of bus drivers. Behavioural Research in Road Safety: 12^thSeminar, Department for Transport, Dublin, HMSO.

Garwood, L. and Dorn, L. (2003). Stress vulnerability and choice of coping strategies in UK bus drivers. In L. Dorn. (Ed). Driver Behaviour and Training. Ashgate, Aldershot.

Dorn, L. and Garwood, L. (2005).Development of a psychometric measure of bus driver behaviour.  Behavioural Research in Road Safety: 14^thSeminar, Department for Transport, Dublin, HMSO.

Dorn, L., af Wåhlberg, A and Stephen, L. (submitted). Development and validation of a psychometric measure of bus driver behaviour. Ergonomics