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The aim of this study was to examine the effect of different environmental, mechanical and individual factors associated with fatalities and serious injuries caused by work traffic accidents among cargo and passenger transport drivers (CPTD) in Spain. For this cross-sectional study, national data on work traffic accidents collected in Spain during the last 3 years were analyzed through a regression modeling approach, in order to predict the severity of traffic crashes involving CPTD. Using binary logistic regression analyses, it was found that the type of road and accident, the meteorological, light and vehicle conditions, individual characteristics and risky driving behaviors significantly predict the risk of fatal work traffic accidents and serious injuries. These findings highlight the importance of combining organizational efforts with national road safety policies in order to generate a traffic safety culture among CPTD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Specific behavioral research tools for long-haul professional drivers are very scarce. • The F-DBQ is adapted to the typical task conditions and risky behaviors of freight drivers. • This 9-item questionnaire has shown a fair goodness-of-fit, reliability, and validity insights. • Results also show how fatigue and job stress play a key role on freight drivers' risky behaviors. • The F-DBQ could be valuable for targeting road risky behaviors among long-haul drivers. Although the Driving Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) remains the most known tool for assessing risky road behaviors among motor vehicle drivers, recent studies have raised several concerns on the specificity of both driving task conditions and behavioral repertory of certain segments of the driving population. Among them, long-haul (cargo) professional drivers constitute one of the "intensive driving" groups for which the existing adapted behavioral research tools are still very scarce. The aim of the present study was to test and validate the F-DBQ (or "Freight Driving Behavior Questionnaire"), a short version of the DBQ adapted to the occupational driving conditions and typical road risk behaviors of freight drivers. For this cross-sectional study, a sample of n = 982 Spanish long-haul drivers with a mean age of 48.5 years was used, responding to a questionnaire composed of measures on road risk behaviors (DBQ), fatigue (Checklist Individual Strength – CIS and Need for Recovery Scale – NFR) and job stress (Effort–Reward Imbalance questionnaire – ERI). Through competitive Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) with structural equation models, it was found that the F-DBQ has a clear dimensional structure, a fair goodness-of-fit, high factorial weights, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity and an improved fit to long haul drivers' working conditions. Also, both (general and work-related) fatigue and job stress have shown to have a significant role in explaining risky road behaviors of long-haul drivers. The findings of this study support that an abbreviated version of the Driving Behavior Questionnaire (the F-DBQ) can be used to assess traffic violations and errors among long-haul drivers, in consideration of their specific task-related conditions (that qualitatively differ from other groups of drivers), with potential implications on the enforcement of occupational and road safety research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Both driving styles and work environment have been related to road safety outcomes. • This study presents the validation of the MDSI in professional drivers. • The MDSI has fair factorial structure, psychometric indices and convergent validity. • This 33-item version is coherent to the recently re-evaluated model of four factors. • This version represents a useful tool for occupational and road safety research. The Multidimensional Driving Style Inventory or MDSI constitutes, perhaps, the most relevant tool for measuring driving styles. Since its releasing in 2004, it has been applied worldwide to different samples of drivers, showing an important value and utility for road safety. However, empirical studies using the MDSI on professional drivers are scarce and, to the date, there is no validated version of the instrument in this workforce yet. Objectives: This study had two aims. First, to describe in detail the validation of the Taubman-Ben-Ari's MDSI among professional drivers and, second, to test its convergent validity with other key relevant factors present in the work environment of this particular population: driving anger, job strain and occupational driving crashes. Method: The data used for this validation was gathered from a representative sample of 752 Colombian professional drivers and analyzed by means of competitive Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFAs), assessing psychometric properties and obtaining an optimized structure for the instrument applied to active transportation workers. Results: The outcomes of this study suggest a clear factorial structure, adequate model fit, factorial weights, reliability and internal consistency, keeping the re-evaluated four-factor structure of the questionnaire: Reckless & Careless (F1); Anxious (F2); Angry & Hostile (F3); and Patient & Careful (F4). Conclusion: This applied research supports the hypothesis that the validated version of MDSI in professional drivers, together with further measures applied to other work environment factors, may play a relevant role in the improvement of driving safety and injury prevention for this vulnerable workforce from the perspective of occupational research in transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed at analyzing the cycling safety-related factors and the mental health indicators of elderly cyclists in comparison with other age groups. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the data of 911 bicyclists from two Latin American countries that have been experiencing a substantial growth of urban cycling during the last few years: Colombia and Argentina. Participants responded to an e-questionnaire on bicycling behaviors, mental health and cycling safety. Results: Aging adults reported lower rates of risky behaviors and traffic crashes (around .38 in five years), and, on the other hand, more cycling protective behaviors, a higher risk perception and a better knowledge of traffic norms than both other adults (26–50 years old) and young cyclists (<26). Cycling behaviors and crashes were found to be significantly related to mental health indicators, the latter being higher in aging cyclists. However, this population remains more prone to distractions experienced while cycling than other age groups. Conclusions: Although the behavioral features of aging adults were comparatively “safer” than the ones displayed by other age groups, factors such as cycling distractions and this population’s over-representation in traffic crashes suggest the need of enforcing policymaking for a better integration of this age segment in alternative transportation dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Driving commuters are exposed to several daily stressful conditions and safety-related risks. • In the case of LMICs, some of these conditions seem to be even more challenging for commuters. • This study examines whether subjective outcomes mediate the association between stress and risky driving behaviors. • Subjective outcomes have shown to play a significant role on the explanation of commuters' self-reported road risky behaviors. • Stress and fatigue might constitute key issues to intervene for preventing commuting crashes. Despite the efforts made by different stakeholders, most of Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) continue to systematically report very negative road safety outcomes. In fact, in countries like Colombia, the rate of deaths from traffic crashes has increased in recent years. One of the most affected collectives in this regard -and at the same time one of the least addressed in specialized literature- are driving commuters, which are commonly exposed to several types of threats and stressors configuring an "everyday risk" potentially impairing their health and safety. This study aimed to assess whether there exists an indirect path -mediated by subjective outcomes- linking driving stress and risky driving behaviors among Colombian commuters. For this study, it was analyzed the data provided by a full sample of 941 driving commuters from different industries (18 % females, 82 % males) with a mean age of 37 years. The results of this research suggest that exposure to driving stressors is a risk factor for risky driving. Furthermore, these outcomes are consistent with previous evidence linking adverse subjective states such as fatigue and psychological strain with impaired driving performance. This statistical mediation exerted by subjective outcomes, which can be considered partial, suggests that interventions focused on managing driving stress and reducing road stressors can enhance both their psychological welfare and commuting safety outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • There is a clear lack of tools for assessing cyclists’ behaviors on the road. • Riding behavior of cyclists is a relevant matter to asses for strengthening their safety. • The CBQ has a clear factorial structure, and fair psychometric coefficients. • CBQ is satisfactorily adjusted to a latent variable model with three factors. • It represents an useful tool for researchers and road safety practitioners. Abstract Introduction Even though cycling is an activity whose benefits in terms of urban mobility and health are globally recognized, its disproportional growth during the past few decades has led to some unexpected dynamics. In fact, the increasing number of traffic injuries and deaths involving cyclists has a high cost for public health systems. Considering the available empirical evidence, aberrant and positive behaviors on the road constitute relevant predictors for the injuries suffered by road users. Nevertheless, the scarcity of tools that measure and evaluate the behavior of road users, especially in the case of cyclists, constitutes a serious lack in terms of explaining, intervening and preventing traffic crashes through behavioral approaches. Objective This study had two essential purposes: first, to describe in detail the validation of measurement of risky and positive road user behaviors of cyclists using the Cycling Behavior Questionnaire. Second, to compare the mean scores of the validated version of the CBQ according to demographic and cycling-related factors. Method As a part of a larger collaborative research project, our data was collected from 1064 Spanish-speaking cyclists (between 17 and 80 years old) from 20 countries, who filled out an anonymous electronic survey on their riding behaviors. The data was analyzed using competitive Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA), thus obtaining basic psychometric values and an optimized structure for the scale. Results The obtained results suggest that the CBQ has a clear factorial structure, items with high factorial weight, and good internal consistency. In particular, the results of the latent variable model with three factors, which were labeled errors, violations and positive behaviors, show that the CBQ is satisfactorily adjusted. Conclusion The findings of this research support the idea that the CBQ may have important applications in the improvement of road safety through the study of cyclists' behavioral factors and their relationship to demographic and cycling-related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]