DYSFUNCTIONAL CONSUMPTION OF PUBLIC SERVICES: CONSUMERS' TENDENCY TO VIOLATE TRAFFIC LIGHTS RULES

Abstract

Consumption of public services takes place in a collective context where not only one but all consumers’ interests are at stake. Therefore, dysfunctional consumption of these services puts individual and, also, collective benefits at risk. As a public service, traffic lighting services are consumed by drivers. The present study examines consumers’ tendency to violate the yellow light rules in traffic, in other words, the tendency of dysfunctional consumption of yellow traffic lights. The findings indicate that as “the degree of awareness of the driver's responsibilities in the traffic”, “the tendency to comply with the feedback received from the immediate environment”, “the tendency to comply with the public service rules” decrease, the tendency to violate the yellow light, in other words, the tendency to consume traffic lighting services irresponsibly increases. Moreover, the fact the driver does not evaluate non-compliance as a negative behavior lets him violate the yellow light. In addition, it has been observed that drivers who have not been punished for violating the yellow lights before comply with the yellow light rules more than those who have been punished, drivers who have not had a traffic accident before comply with the yellow light rules more than those who have had a traffic accident. Besides that, female drivers comply with the yellow light rules more than male drivers. Suggestions for using the findings of the study within the scope of social marketing campaigns aiming to convey the importance of functional consumption of public services to consumers have also been developed.