SWEDISH AND U.S. SUBJECTS JUDGED THEIR OWN DRIVING SKILLS AND SAFETY IN RELATION TO OTHER DRIVERS. AS IN EARLIER STUDIES, MOST SUBJECTS SHOWED AN OPTIMISM BIAS, A TENDENCY TO JUDGE ONESELF AS SAFER AND MORE SKILLFUL THAN THE AVERAGE DRIVER, WITH A SMALLER RISK OF GETTING INVOLVED AND INJURED IN AN ACCIDENT. DIFFERENT MEASURES OF THE OPTIMISM EFFECT WERE STRONGLY CORRELATED WITH ONE ANOTHER, WITH DRIVING EXPERIENCE AND WITH THE JUDGED IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN FACTORS (AS OPPOSED TO TECHNICAL AND CHANCE FACTORS) IN CAUSING ACCIDENTS. DEGREE OF OPTIMISM WAS POSITIVELY, BUT WEAKLY, CORRELATED WITH REPORTED SEAT BELT USAGE AND WORRY ABOUT TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS. SEAT BELT USAGE WAS POSITIVELY RELATED TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH BELTS ARE JUDGED TO BE CONVENIENT AND POPULAR, AND MORE MODESTLY RELATED TO THE BELT'S PERCEIVED CONTRIBUTIONS TO SAFETY. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PROVIDING MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SEAT BELTS MAY NOT BE AS EFFICIENT A WAY OF INCREASING SEAT BELT USAGE AS EMPHASIZING OTHER FACTORS SUCH AS COMFORT AND SOCIAL FORMS, WHICH CANNOT BE OUTWEIGHED BY OPTIMISM.(Author/publisher).
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