Introduction to Driver Questionnaire

A questionnaire is defined as a research instrument devised for the purposes of a survey or statistical study. Generally, it consists of a series of questions for the idea of gathering data from respondents. The behavior of drivers plays a key role in road safety as it is important in traffic accident prevention. Therefore, to understand the behaviors of drivers, driver questionnaires are required. By answering different universal questions related to driving, they will give an estimate of the various driving patterns of people of a selected area.

These research topics are mainly conducted for academic purposes which is why the drivers need to be honest and accurate at all times. Sometimes, this type of questionnaire can also be used by insurance companies to estimate the risks of driving. On the basis of estimated risks, the premiums may be fixed by the insurance companies.

Young Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ)

Young drivers are over‐represented in crashes, injury and death statistics mostly in high‐income countries, crashing at almost double the rate of other drivers. Young Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) is a study designed to develop an initial set of measures to observe young drivers’ behavior related to road traffic safety issues in different countries. It was designed to elicit useful information related to road safety from university students having a driving license. This type of questionnaire mainly considers a young drivers attitudes towards traffic safety issues such as failing to comply with a traffic light signal, failing to wear the seat belt, disregard the speed limits, failing to use the personal intelligent driving assistant, failing to yield pedestrian, driving too close, frequently changing lanes, risk due to encroachments, failing to apply brakes, problems of mixed traffic and sounds the horn in annoyance.

Usually, participants perform a questionnaire either online or on an identical print version. A questionnaire should be designed to be completed in 15–20 min and includes questions about the potential risk factors for injuries in young drivers. Participants should be assured that all the information remains confidential. The age of drivers should be 17–24 years holding their first‐stage provisional motor vehicle driver’s license to perform a young driver questionnaire.

Other relevant factors of the Questionnaire

It has been argued that young people around the minimum licensing age are at a stage of life where they reject parental values, strive for independence, experiment with roles, and become heavily influenced by their peer group and its values. Thus young drivers may be motivated to drive fast or take other risks in order to test their own abilities or to impress their peers. Thus, a young driver questionnaire may help to show the behavior of a young driver associated with his/her driving.

There are different questionnaire templates for different enterprises. A standard Young Driver Questionnaire includes five basic things that are the following:

1. Demographics
   All young driver’s questionnaires include the basic details about the driver. The driver is questioned about the age, gender, marital status, driving license number, and the age of his/her vehicle. These questions are required to ask to get general information about the driver so that they can be confirmed.
2. Driving Practice
   Next, a young driver’s questionnaire adds questions to know about the practice of driving the driver has. Questions like ‘How often do he/she drive?’, ‘How frequent do he/she drive in the city, town, outskirts, or on the highway?’. Drivers may also be asked about his/her speeding skills and the appropriate reasons.
3. Driving Experience
   To know about how much experience the driver has regarding driving, a young driver questionnaire includes questions related to any major accidents, being caught for over-speeding, and the possible traffic offenses the driver violated while driving. This gives an idea of what kind of driver the respondent is.
4. Driver Opinion
   A questionnaire also covers some subjective questions to understand the conscience and driving knowledge of the driver. There may be a rating scale for these questions to get the desired answer. In some questionnaires, space is provided for descriptive answers.
5. Driver Self-Evaluation
   Self-evaluation questions are asked to know what the driver is aware of and what is not. These questions are required to understand the driver’s level of understanding of the road and how well he/she knows to get through any hurdles on road like traffic jams, rush hour, speeding, etc.