Understanding school zone driving behavior using structural equation modeling based on the extended theory of planned behavior
DOI: 10.1007/s44327-025-00157-0
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Summary
This study investigates driver behavior in school zones to enhance child pedestrian safety, focusing on Lahore, Pakistan. The research is motivated by the high vulnerability of children to traffic accidents in developing nations, where insufficient infrastructure, enforcement, and public awareness exacerbate risks. While the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been used to assess driving behavior globally, it has rarely been applied to school zones in developing contexts. This study extends the TPB framework by integrating two additional constructs: Mindfulness (MF) and Awareness Responsibility (AR), aiming to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the psychological and social factors influencing driver intentions. The researchers conducted a survey in two educational zones in Lahore, Baghbanpura and Gulberg, selected for their high traffic congestion and history of child-related accidents. Using convenience sampling, 480 valid responses were collected from drivers via a questionnaire designed around the extended TPB framework. The data were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to identify factor structures, followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to validate the hypothesized relationships. The sample was predominantly young (80% aged 21–30), male (90%), and consisted largely of students (86.3%), with a significant portion lacking formal driving licenses (65%). The results revealed that Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavioral Control, and Mindfulness were positively associated with drivers’ intentions to reduce speed and drive safely in school zones. Conversely, Awareness Responsibility showed a significant negative association with safe driving intentions. This counterintuitive finding suggests that awareness of safety issues alone, without supporting enforcement or engineering measures, does not necessarily translate into safer behavioral intentions. Additionally, driver characteristics such as age, education, driving experience, and gender were found to be significant factors influencing behavior. Descriptive statistics indicated that while 92.5% of respondents claimed to drive carefully, 56.9% had received traffic fines, and 26.8% rarely or never adhered to speed restrictions, highlighting a gap between self-reported attitudes and actual compliance. The study concludes that improving child safety in school zones requires a multifaceted approach beyond mere awareness campaigns. The negative link between awareness and intention implies that policymakers must combine educational efforts with tangible enforcement mechanisms and infrastructure improvements, such as speed bumps and clear signage, to effectively modify driver behavior. By extending the TPB with mindfulness and awareness constructs, the research offers new empirical evidence for traffic psychology in developing countries, providing actionable insights for urban planners and legislators seeking to reduce traffic injuries among children in rapidly urbanizing environments.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | OpenAlex-citations | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| archive | success | unpaywall | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-25 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-26 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-18 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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