Driver Attitudes and Choices: Speed Limits, Seat Belt Use, and Drinking-and-Driving

Abstract

A better understanding of attitudes and behavioral principles underlying driving behavior and traffic safety issues can contribute to design and policy solutions, such as speed limits and seat belt legislation. This work examines the Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Surveys (MVOSS) dataset to illuminate drivers' seatbelt use, driving speed choices, drinking-and-driving tendencies, along with their attitudes towards speed limits and seat belt laws. Ordered probit, negative binomial, and linear regression models were used for the data analysis, and several interesting results emerged. The number and variety of results feasible with this single dataset are instructive as well as intriguing.