Driving locus of control: The Czech adaptation

Objectives. This study attempts to introduce the Driving Locus of Control (DLoC), a method focused on the internal or external source of attribution of the driving behaviour, to the Czech context. This study also relates DLoC to attitudes towards autonomous vehicles (AVs).Participants and setting. Out of the general population, 59 inquirers personally interviewed (CAPI) 1 065 respondents (49% women) in the age range between 15 and 92 years (M = 50, SD = 17). The respondents were sampled via multi-stage random sampling procedure, based on the list of addresses in the Czech Republic. Hypotheses. The authors hypothesised to replicate the original two-factor structure of the DLOC Scale and that the higher levels of internal DLoC result in not considering the improvement in traffic safety as the AVs replace human drivers.Statistical analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyse the factor structure of DLoC Scale. Hypotheses related to the empirical validity of the method were assessed via structural equation modelling. Reliability of DLoC Scale was calculated in terms of internal consistency (McDonald coefficient).Results. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed reasonably good support for structural validity of the one-dimensional DLoC-CZ15 factor model (chi 2 = 426.967, df = 90, CFI = 0.964, TLI = 0.958, SRMR = 0.066, RMSEA = 0.065). In addition, the one-dimensional DLoC-CZ15 factor model showed acceptable internal consistency - omega = 0.9 (95% CI [0.89, 0.91]). The structural equation modelling found a relationship between DLoC and some of the items capturing attitudes towards AVs, too.Study limitations. The analysed data were obtained via interviews between respondents and inquirers. As a result, the study does not contain indicators of empirical validity measured by a methodologically different approach, such as an observation of driving behaviour.