The observation of a person's behaviour is likely to affect that behaviour. Monitoring driving behaviour offers a possibility for influencing it, particularly when the driver is confronted with his own behaviour. The objective of this study is to investigate the opportunities for improving traffic safety by confronting the driver with his monitored and recorded behaviour making use of in-car electronic recording devices. A field trial of a 'matched experimental/control group design with intervention' was planned, in which accident and exposure data were collected for 840 vehicles, of which 270 were equipped with a data recorder. During an observation period representing a total of about 3100 vehicle years, these vehicles were involved in 1836 road accidents. The study established a statistically significant reduction in the number of accidents for several fleets in which the behaviour of the drivers was monitored. As yet, these positive results can be given only within rather wide confidence intervals, this being due chiefly to the small sample size. When viewing the total group of fleets involved in the study, it is possible to estimate an accident reduction of some 20%. The analysis shows that the actual savings vary depending on the transport sector involved and on the prior level of the fleet's safety record. (A)
Samenvatting