Attributions of responsibility for motor vehicle crashes

Abstract

A sample of 321 motor vehicle crash survivors completed a survey in which they provided attribution ratings of the extent to which they were responsible for their crashes, other people (drivers) were responsible, or road/weather conditions were responsible. The attribution ratings were consistent with the predictions of defensive attribution theory (DAT; [Walster, E., 1966. Assignment of responsibility for an accident. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 3, 73–79]) in that people who experienced crashes of greater severity (necessitating medical treatment for injuries) attributed greater responsibility to other drivers than to self or to weather/road conditions. People who were in crashes of lesser severity attributed approximately the same amount of responsibility to themselves as they did to others. An actor–observer effect also appeared in survivors’ attribution ratings in that self-acceptance of responsibility for the crash was positively correlated with attributions to the situation (road/weather conditions) whereas such attributions to the situation were negatively correlated with attributions of responsibility to other drivers. Consistent with results of prior research, survivors who assigned crash responsibility to other drivers reported increased levels of driving and riding avoidance compared to people who accepted responsibility for their crashes.