Psychology and Crashes Psychologists, are scientists who study human behaviour, attempt to understand the role of 'the human' in routine events. In relation to crashes, psychologists have introduced the idea that humans can help reduce, or even eliminate, the occurrence of crashes. To assess the role that human error plays in crashes, a search is on to identify psychological variables that may help develop better traffic systems.

Behaviour or Road Conditions?

It has been shown that psychological factors contribute significantly to crashes. Studies have documented that human behaviour, (usually human error,) is the primary cause of over half the crashes studied. Problems related to road conditions and the vehicles involved in the crashes were found to contribute less significantly. An additional finding was that some crashes were caused by a combination of both environmental conditions and the human error, and could have been compensated for.

Risk Taking

What leads people to perform dangerous acts? What causes a person to make errors in judgements and decisions on the road? Studies have shown that incorrect decisions are made mainly during the driver's first years on the road. Furthermore, a relationship was found between the risk-taking in driving and the perception of those risks. Risk-taking is perceived as a function of the level of danger as perceived by the driver and of the driver's faith in his/her capability to safely cope with that danger. Thus, a key factor is the exaggerated belief, by the driver, of his/her mental skills and his/her ability to control the vehicle.

Psychology and Driving Lessons

Psychology, in the context of driving, addresses two main areas: First, is the need to ensure that the driver has the mental skills necessary to operate the vehicle through the various driving tasks. Second, is the need to create a desire and a need to practice and maintain these skills, even after obtaining a driving licence. New drivers must practise mental skills beyond that of the basic level of instruction given within the lessons, because there are tasks that receive practically no attention in the course of such lessons.
In light of the high incidence of crashes among inexperienced drivers, drivers should gain more practical driving experience prior to the obtaining their licence. Students can gain more experience prior to real-time driving on the road through supplementary training to their regular driving lessons.

Based on:
Brown,I.D.(1997).How traffic and transport systems can benefit from psychology. In Rothengatter,T &Vaya,E.C.(Eds).Traffic and Transport Psychology (pp.9-19).U.K:Pergamon.