The thesis investigated the relationships between personality traits and driving behaviour among Slovenian novice drivers using the newly developed Slovenian Driving Behaviour Questionnaire of Novice Drivers (SN-DBQ) and the Big Five Personality Traits Questionnaire (BFI). The SN-DBQ was designed specifically to monitor the driving behaviour of young Slovenian drivers and was inspired by the DBQ as it measures the same constructs. In creating the items, various psychological and cognitive theories were considered, resulting in a list of 28 items designed to reflect four types of inappropriate or undesirable driving behaviour: cognitive slips, errors, intentional and unintentional violations. Cognitive interviews were conducted to check the adequacy of the items. In the main research, data was collected from 369 participants using an online survey. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four-factor structure of the questionnaire. Regression analysis demonstrated the predictive power of personality traits on driving behaviour. The results showed that the male gender statistically significantly predicted intentional violations and errors. Not driving with a companion before the age of 18 was associated with more intentional violations, unintentional violations, errors, and fewer cognitive slips. Higher scores on the extraversion scale were associated with a greater frequency of cognitive slips and intentional violations. For cognitive slips, unintentional violations, and errors, the results indicated that they were predicted by agreeableness and conscientiousness. Unintentional violations were also predicted by openness. Emotional stability did not predict any driving behaviour. These findings highlighted the importance of personality traits in understanding and predicting the driving behaviour of novice drivers. The work confirmed that the newly developed questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool for assessing driving behaviour. Future research should extend these findings with larger and more diverse samples to increase generalizability and develop targeted road safety interventions.
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