Further reflections on the highway safety field.

Highway safety has low priority as a public health problem and receives limited funding. There is implicit acceptance of the large yearly toll of deaths and injuries. This situation has to do with the psychology of driving. Driver behavior is an obvious contributing factor in most crashes. Most people think they are superior drivers and that although motor vehicle injuries are a societal problem, they themselves are not particularly affected. Persuading drivers to change their behavior, a popular approach, is usually ineffective, as safety messages are readily deflected or ignored. A more sophisticated approach is embodied in the Haddon matrix, which brings into play vehicle and environmental factors that can reduce crashes and injuries. As professionals we need to be aware of the psychological forces that push us toward a focus on individual behavior and away from a broader public health approach. We need to insist that we use our scarce resources wisely through policies based on science. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E214057. Printed volume contains peer-reviewed papers. CD-ROM contains submitted papers.