The research described in this paper was based on the idea that individual differences in accident liability may result from characteristic ways of taking decisions, reflecting differences in the motivational forces operating on the decision making process itself. It is hypothesised that individuals approach a wide variety of decision problems in a measurably consistent way. Thus, when they are driving, they might import their 'decision making style' into their driving choices and this would have consequences for their likelihood of having a road traffic accident. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of this work and to examine its implications for the future study of driver viour. Most of the results described in the paper come from a postal survey of 714 drivers who had previously taken part in a national driver survey carried out for the transport and road research laboratory. The sample of drivers used in our postal survey was stratified by age, sex, annual mileage and whether they had had zero or one or more accidents over a period of up to three years prior to the TRRL survey. The data from our postal survey have been supplemented by further surveys, interviews, and observational studies. Questionnaires were administered on decision making and driving styles. The paper provides a model of accident liability for under 60s and over 60s taking into account speed and age and thoroughness, hesitancy and instinctiveness of decision making.
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