Research on drivers and driving covers a wide range of topics and approaches within psychology. The driving task, as a complex everyday task, provides a focus for a wide range of theories and methodologies and allows these to be tested and elaborated in a highly relevant applied setting. This article gives a very brief overview of the relevant topics such as driver perception and cognition and the social psychology of driving. Traffic psychology also significantly contributes to the development of accident countermeasures. This does not only include traditional approaches such as road user education, publicity and training, but it is also argued that application of psychological knowledge about driver perception and cognition can contribute to optimal road and vehicle design.
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