In this research a variety of methods to investigate aberrant driver behaviour were used. Of these, three techniques were found to be especially useful: (1) self-report questionnaires; (2) in-car observations; and (3) structured interviews carried out in the home. The initial hypothesis was that aberrant driver behaviour fell into two psychological distinct classes: errors and violations. In the event, factor analyses performed on the responses to the two self-report questionnaires (involving 520 and 1740 drivers respectively) consistently distinguished three orthogonal factors of aberrant driver behaviour: violation, dangerous errors and lapses. These differed markedly along a number of dimensions: (a) the nature of the aberrant behaviour; (b) the underlying cognitive mechanisms; (c) the charateristics of those most likely to commit these aberrations; (d) driver characteristics associated with accident involvement; (e) passenger effect; and (f) effects of mood.
Samenvatting