High risk road users present a difficult challenge for behaviour change programs. They continue to engage in risky behaviours despite the ongoing influence of community-wide programs that have often been shown to be broadly effective in reducing the frequency or severity of crashes. This paper introduces the concept of the road safety pyramid a way of considering the potential value of behavioural research and theory in a road safety context. It is argued that theoretical development in road safety, behavioural research, and program development and implementation are all hindered by an implicit assumption that the vast mass of road users, and particularly the group engaging in high risk behaviours, has psychological characteristics that are similar in some way to the characteristics of researchers and practitioners. Examples of psychologically naive approaches to behaviour change and behavioural research are used to demonstrate this argument, and the implications of the road safety pyramid for future research and program development targeting high risk road users are discussed. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E217329.
Samenvatting