Associations Between Cognitive Distortions in Moral Reasoning and Self-Reported Traffic Violations and Crashes for Different Road User Groups

Abstract

The use of self-serving cognitive distortions measured by traffic-role specific versions of the Cognitive Distortions in Driving (CDD) test was explored for three Dutch road user groups: cyclists beginning to learn to drive (LDs) who were enrolled in a pro-social driving program (n=138); young novice drivers enrolled in a safety awareness program (n=1660), and; experienced professional bus drivers enrolled in a post-licensing training program (871). Associations between cognitive distortions and self-reported traffic behavior, fines and crashes were analyzed. Results show that about 20 per cent of the young novice drivers used self-serving cognitive distortions, compared to 8 per cent of the LDs and 5 per cent of the bus drivers. In addition, use of cognitive distortions was significantly correlated with speed and traffic violations. Finally, a subgroup of cyclist LDs (n=38) who had been licensed for six months used fewer cognitive distortions when tested as drivers than the licensed young novice drivers without pro-social driver training. This shows that pro-social driver training can reduce cognitive distortions and may possibly increase safety.