Assessment of proneness to distraction: English adaptation and validation of the Attention-Related Driving Errors Scale (ARDES) and cross-cultural equivalence

• Published in: Transportation research. Part F, Traffic psychology and behaviour Vol. 43; pp. 357 - 365
• Main Authors: Peña-Suárez, Elsa, Padilla, Jose-Luis, Ventsislavova, Petya, Gugliotta, Andrés, Roca, Javier, Lopez-Ramón, María-Fernanda, Castro, Cándida
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier India Pvt Ltd 01-11-2016; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Attention-Related Driving Errors Scale, ARDES; Automobile drivers; Automobile driving; Demographic variables; Demographics; Driver behaviour; Driver inattention; English language; Equivalence; Error analysis; Factor analysis; Habits; Psychometrics; Questionnaire adaptation; Regulations; Reporting; Road safety; Surveys; Traffic accidents; Traffic accidents & safety; Traffic engineering; Translations; United Kingdom > UK; Spain; Questionnaire adaptation; Driver behaviour; Road safety; Attention-Related Driving Errors Scale, ARDES; Driver inattention
• ISSN: 1369-8478; 1873-5517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2016.09.004

•We adapt ARDES to English language and culture, regulations and driving habits of UK.•The scale consists of 19 items. Cronbach’s alpha=.89. One-dimensional structure.•Association between ARDES scores and socio-demographic variables are reported.•Differences in ARDES were found between drivers with/without material damage accidents.
Prior research developed the Attention-Related Driving Errors Scale (ARDES), a 19-item questionnaire aimed at evaluating the drivers’ predisposition to attentional error, and also provided validity evidence of ARDES measures across two countries: Argentina and Spain. In the current work we adapt the Spanish version of the ARDES to the English language and the culture, traffic regulations and driving habits of the UK, and then provide new evidence of the cross-cultural equivalence of the scale. First, an improved forward and backward translation design was used to translate the Spanish ARDES into English. A committee-approach review process was also performed during the translation phase to guarantee that the English ARDES was the most appropriate to reflect the language, culture, traffic regulations and driving habits of the UK. Second, the adapted questionnaire was tested on 301 British drivers to inspect its psychometric properties and study the relationships between the ARDES-UK and different socio-demographic variables. In agreement with the previous literature, the results of the factor analysis confirmed a single factor and accounting for 33.84% of the variance. Cronbach’s alpha was equal to .89. The observed pattern of relationships of the scores and the different socio-demographic variables was consistent with previous evidence and support the validity of the adapted questionnaire. For example, the ARDES-UK scores were significantly different between drivers reporting and not reporting traffic accidents with material damage. To conclude with, the translation design and the resulting psychometric suggest the validity of ARDES-UK measures for evaluating the British drivers’ predisposition to attentional error. In addition, the evidence in the current work supports the hypothesis of the cross-cultural stability of the scale across Spain and the UK.