WHO DRIVES LARGE CARS

Correlates of engine size were examined in a study of English car drivers (N = 791). Drivers of large engined cars (>1.8L) were more likely to be middle-aged, male, from higher social class and income groups and to live out of town. They reported a higher annual mileage, drove more often on motorways, were more likely to drive as part of their work, to use their car for holidays and weekends away, to score high on measures of Personal Identity from driving (along with 17-20 year olds) and need for Individual Autonomy, to suffer less distress from driving, to enjoy their driving more, to rate their car as vital to their lifestyle - and fewer had tried recently to reduce their car use. They reported higher mean commuting speeds, higher nominated normal and preferred speeds, greater thrill-seeking, higher highway code and aggressive Violation scores, higher self-rated skill scores, and lower usefulness scores for telematic devices. 47% of those driving cars of above 2.0L would prefer to drive (even) faster on motorways than they report they normally do. 60% of drivers in the sample who had been penalised for speeding in the previous three years drove cars of 1.8L or above. For the covering abstract see ITRD E113725.