Adaptation and validity of the reckless driving habits scale in young Chinese drivers

The aims of the present study were to adapt the Reckless Driving Habits Scale (RDHS, Taubman-Ben-Ari et al., 2004) to a sample of young Chinese drivers and to examine its relationships with personality traits and traffic accidents. Four hundred fifty young drivers aged 18–25 years agreed to participate in this study and completed questionnaires assessing their reckless driving behaviours, personality traits (trait anger, sensation seeking, altruism and normlessness) and social desirability. The results of an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed a 10-item scale with satisfactory reliability (0.889). The validity of the scale was supported by the significant correlations between reckless driving behaviours and personality traits. The drivers who scored higher on reckless driving behaviours were male and younger. This study also found that reckless driving behaviours can significantly predict young drivers' violation involvement in the previous 12 months and in the overall driving period since they obtained their driving licences after controlling for social desirability and demographic variables. These findings show that the Chinese version of the RDHS is a reliable, valid and highly useful instrument.