Anticipatory avoidance behaviour in (un)regulated potentially unsafe traffic situations : social forgivingness in traffic situations. Master thesis Leiden University.

This study investigated how the degree of regulation of the setting (less regulated setting vs. more regulated setting) influences the willingness of participants to act in an Anticipatory Avoidance way in a potential unsafe traffic situation. This study also investigated the differences in personal variables (gender, age, Social Value Orientation, Perspective Taking, Driving experience and Dilemma perception) on the willingness of participants to act in an Anticipatory Avoidance manner. We argue that in the less regulated setting participants are more willing to act in an Anticipatory way than in the more regulated setting. Consistent with the hypothesis, the present research revealed that participants are more willing to act in an Anticipatory Avoidance way in the less regulated setting than in the more regulated setting. However, only when the less regulated setting encountered before the more regulated setting. We also argue that in the less regulated setting participants rely more on their own personal variables to determine their choice behaviour than in the more regulated setting. The results not corroborate our line of reasoning. Older participants, participants with a pro-social value orientation and participants who have the motivation to avoid an accident are more willing to act in an Anticipatory Avoidance way, however in the less regulated setting as well as in the more regulated setting. The Discussion outlines of the present work partly focusing on the usefulness to act in an Anticipatory Avoidance way to prevent accidents and to promote safety. It can be suggested that it is better to regulate or over-regulate the traffic situations to evoke safety traffic. (Author/publisher)