Towards a general theory of driver behaviour.

Within psychology, different research traditions have attempted to explain individual differences in risky driving behaviour and traffic accident involvement. The present study attempts to integrate two of these research traditions, the personality trait approach and the social cognition approach, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying young drivers' risk-taking behaviour in traffic. The study was based on a self-completion questionnaire survey carried out among 1932 adolescents in Norway. The questionnaire included measures of risk perception, attitudes towards traffic safety and self-reported risk-taking in traffic. Personality measures included aggression, altruism, anxiety and normlessness. The results of a structural equation model suggested that the relation between the personality traits and risky driving behaviour was mediated through attitudes. On this basis it was concluded that personality primarily influences risky driving behaviour indirectly through affecting the attitudinal determinants of the behaviour. Practical implications for traffic safety campaigns are also discussed.

Personality, attitudes and risk Perceptions as predictors of risky driving behaviour among young drivers

Personality, attitudes and risk perception as predictors of risky driving behaviour among young drivers

Hazard and Risk Perception among Young Novice Drivers

Construction workers’ ability to identify and assess risks is acquired through training and experience and is among the key factors that determine their behaviour and thus their safety. Yet researchers have questioned the effectiveness of conventional safety training. This research tested the hypotheses that safety training in a virtual reality (VR) construction site would be feasible and more effective, in terms of workers’ learning and recall in identifying and assessing construction safety risks, than would equivalent training using conventional methods. Sixty-six subjects were provided training in construction safety and their safety knowledge was tested prior to the training, immediately afterward, and one month later. Half of the subjects received traditional classroom training with visual aids; the other half were trained using a 3D immersive VR power-wall. Significant advantage was found for VR training for stone cladding work and for cast-in-situ concrete work, but not for general site safety. VR...

Construction safety training using immersive virtual reality

Two studies were undertaken to obtain empirical support for the existence of driver subtypes in the young novice driver population. In Study 1, 198 participants (55% male) aged 16 to 19 completed an extensive self-report questionnaire. Five novice driver subtypes were identified through a cluster analysis of personality and driving-related measures. Two relatively high-risk or deviant subtypes (Clusters 1 and 5) were identified, characterized by high levels of driving-related aggression, competitive speed, driving to reduce tension, sensation seeking, assaultiveness, and hostility. The individuals in Cluster 5 also reported low levels of emotional adjustment and high levels of depression, resentfulness, and irritability. In Study 2, a subset of participants from each of the subtypes drove several scenarios in a driving simulator. The subtypes differed in their responses to an emergency situation and several potential traffic hazards. They also differed in the proficiency with which they could control their attention among concurrent tasks in high-workload situations. Most of the significant differences were related to lower levels of driving skill among the two most deviant subtypes (Clusters 1 and 5). The potential applications of this research include the design of training programs and other countermeasures to address the young novice driver crash problem.

Young novice driver subtypes: relationship to high-risk behavior, traffic accident record, and simulator driving performance.

Novice drivers aged 18 to 25 are overrepresented in road accidents. This is partly due to an underdeveloped ability to control their attention. A driving simulator was used to enhance the attentional control skill of novice drivers, using Gopher's “variable priority” (VP) training technique. Three groups of novice drivers with varying on-road experience participated. Half the subjects in each group received VP training; the other half served as controls. All performed two tasks concurrently in the simulator, over 20 training trials. The VP group was instructed over trials to systematically vary the relative amount of attention given to each task. Control subjects were instructed to simply perform the two tasks as well as possible. After training, VP subjects performed significantly better than controls in a transfer of training drive in the simulator involving three sub-tasks, and this was particularly the case for those with greater driving experience. A follow-up experiment replicated and extended these...

Training for Attentional Control in Novice Car Drivers: A Simulator Study

Airbag Technology in Australian Passenger Cars: Preliminary Results from Real World Crash Investigations

Side impact crashes account for a substantial proportion of injuries and harm to Australian passenger car occupants. Twenty five percent of serious casualties and 28% of fatalities to vehicle occupants in Victoria occurred from side impacts. This crash configuration accounted for one-third of vehicle occupant harm (approximately A$l billion annually) during the early nineties. This project aimed to develop a method for optimising the safety systems of new passenger vehicles to minimise occupant harm in side impact collisions. A representative sample of crashes and injuries to occupants in Australian passenger cars involved in real-world side impact crashes was analysed in terms of injury incidence and societal harm. The analysis of side impact crash data has been used to set the priorities for the development of a means of assessing injury in side impacts. The available human impact tolerance data for side impacts was reviewed, as a basis for the development of the necessary Injury Assessment Functions IAFs. Preliminary values for lateral injury criteria have been proposed, mainly based on cadaver test results. The steps required to develop and validate the required IAFs are described. (a)

https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/216953/muarc147.pdf

Hamish A Deery

Papers

Hazard and Risk Perception among Young Novice Drivers

Young novice driver subtypes: relationship to high-risk behavior, traffic accident record, and simulator driving performance.

Training for Attentional Control in Novice Car Drivers: A Simulator Study

Airbag Technology in Australian Passenger Cars: Preliminary Results from Real World Crash Investigations

Improved side impact protection: a review of injury patterns, injury tolerance and dummy measurement capabilities