This chapter points out aspects of behaviour which should be supported, influenced or modified by new Road Transport Informatics (RTI) systems and functions, to achieve desired traffic and safety characteristics. From a psychological viewpoint, the following approaches to judging unsafe behaviour and interaction are very valuable: (1) passenger perspective of road user behaviour, and (2) behavioural studies in road traffic research. However, there is no proof that they help to identify 'really' dangerous behaviours and interactions. Much work is being done on what forms of driver behaviour are actually 'desirable'. In 1989 and 1990, a large study was conducted in Vienna, whose aim was to identify risks in road traffic by comparing observed road users' behaviour with traffic-conflict data and accident data along a standardised route. One of its main results was that car drivers usually behave in an 'extremely impolite' manner in normal circumstances. This is a genuine threat to other road users, especially unprotected users. When discussing the safety of new equipment, four phenomena must be considered: (1) drivers' lack of ability in complex situations; (2) speed increases when the situation becomes 'safer'; (3) uncooperative communication between car drivers and other road users; (4) a strong resistance to speed reduction and especially to braking. Two opposite strategies for RTI are discussed: (1) tutoring drivers; (2) systems which make the decision for the driver, either via automatic driving techniques or by law enforcement.
Abstract