The literature on the relationship between crash behaviour and traffic violation behaviour has tended to focus on analysing traffic violation behaviour of drivers with a high crash risk potential. Critical observations on social characteristics of these drivers have also been developed. Strong effects of age and sex on traffic injuries have been identified. One of the methodological constraints of attempts to predict crash exposure or risk from behavioural data is that behaviour must be determined prior to the event analysed. In this study, a database of all drivers cited for traffic violations in Hawaii in 1990-93, 362,500 persons, was analysed. It appears that: 1. having been cited at a prior crash accounts for a dramatic increase in likelihood of next citation also involving a crash; women are more likely to be involved in a cited crash. Failure to comply with requirements concerning insurance, driving licence, remaining at scene of accident and reporting an accident is the most powerful predictor of increased crash risk in the population cited for traffic violations. Those cited for alcohol impairment are more likely to be involved in a crash. Lack of vehicle safety check and insurance coverage also greatly increase risk of crash involvement.
Abstract