Research in the UK into aberrant behaviours on the road using the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) has reliably distinguished driver Violations from drivers' Errors and Lapses. The frequency with which drivers report committing Violations (defined as deliberate deviations from safe driving practices - e.g., excess speed, close following, running red lights, drink driving), but not the frequency with which they make Errors (defined as failures of observation or judgement - e.g., not noticing pedestrians when turning, misjudging an overtaking gap) or Lapses (defined as embarrassing, but recoverable, mistakes - e.g., selecting the wrong gear to pull away from traffic lights) has been shown to be related to recent (last 3 years) crash involvement in the UK. The 3-way distinction has been replicated in the UK, Australia, Sweden and China, and data is currently being collected in Holland, Finland, Mexico, Brazil, the USA and Canada. This paper reviews these findings, distinguishing involvement in active crashes (`I hit ...') and passive crashes (`I was hit by ...') and summarises further research establishing - for UK drivers - an extensive list of attitudinal and motivational correlates of the tendency to Violate, which amounts to a `psychological profile' of the most at risk car drivers and which has clear implications for road safety countermeasures based on changing drivers' attitudes. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting