Mobile phone use while driving: the role of driving self-regulation

Driving-specific self-regulation has been associated with risky driving behaviour. The present research examined, for the first time, the relationship of driving-specific self-regulation with mobile phone use while driving across two survey-based studies in the United Kingdom. Study 1 (N = 296) showed that driving-specific self-regulation was significantly associated with both texting and calling while driving, over and above the effects of other predictors. Domain-general self-regulation was indirectly associated with texting while driving, through driving-specific self-regulation. Study 2 (N = 309) showed that driving-specific self-regulation was negatively associated with mind wandering while driving. Mind wandering was positively related to both calling and texting while driving, but this relationship was moderated by driving-specific self-regulation. The association of mind wandering and texting was weaker for higher levels of driving-specific self-regulation (B = −0.127, p = .019). Driving-specific self-regulation presents a theoretically relevant construct for the study of behaviours that contribute to distracted driving, such as mobile phone use.