While it is widely held that human behaviour is the major contributor to road traffic accidents, attempts to modify behaviour by changing the attitudes or motivations of drivers have met with limited success. A more fruitful approach is to change the road transport system to take account of the abilities and limitations of the humans using it. This requires an understanding of the behaviours which contribute to road accidents. This study investigated the role of road user behaviours in accidents at the intersection of local streets with arterial roads. The study used data obtained from Police accident files, which included the Police accident report form with site diagram, and records of interview and statements from participants and other witnesses. The investigators used this material to answer a series of questions about closely-defined aspects of the behaviour of each participant. Results were analysed separately for seven different accident types, each type consisting of one or more related Road User Movement codes. The major finding running across all accident types was that the majority of road users did not see the road user with whom they collided in time to prevent a collision. In many cases a visual obstruction contributed to this failure to see, with the majority of such obstructions being caused by other non-parked vehicles. The report briefly discusses the development of countermeasures based on the behaviours identified. The study also identified a number of behaviours which were not as prevalent in accidents as is widely supposed. It is important that undue emphasis not be given to these behaviours in countermeasure development. (A)
Abstract