Quantifying the Impact of Individual Characteristics on Driving Speed – Elasticity Insights from Taxi Drivers’ Education and Personality Traits

This study investigates the impact of individual characteristics on taxi drivers’ speed choices based on a survey of 102 valid responses. The drivers’ speed behaviour was categorised into four intervals, considering age, driving experience, personality traits and vision correction. A model based on disaggregated theory was developed to measure the impact of these factors on driving speed. Using elasticity theory, the sensitivity of these factors was analysed. The results indicated that the absolute values of the elasticity coefficients for age, vision correction and passenger presence were all below 1.000, implying that these factors have a relatively inelastic influence on the selection of speed intervals. In contrast, in the four speed intervals, the elasticity values of education are -6.194, -4.108, -5.011 and -2.972, and those of personality are 7.228, 7.602, 10.753 and 9.298; all of them have an absolute value greater than 1.000. These findings suggest that education level and personality traits significantly impact taxi drivers’ capacity to drive safely. For the benefit of passenger safety, the qualification and daily management of taxi drivers must consider their individual characteristics.