Some Factors Influencing the Road Behaviour of Vehicle Drivers

Abstract

ORGANIZED research on the subject of road safety has been going on in this country since 1947. The research, which in the main is carried out at the Road Research Laboratory of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, has been concerned with improving the vehicle from the point of view of road safety, with making the roads safer by improvements in surface and design and with improving the behaviour of the road user. It is the last subject, the behaviour of the road user, and in particular the behaviour of drivers, with which this paper is concerned. One of the ways of reducing the frequency of road accidents is by improving the road behaviour of drivers. At the Road Research Lalboratory an attempt has been made to obtain information *on some of the factors which influence the road behaviour of vehicle drivers, in order to find out which of these factors are important and which might therefore be used in bringing about 'the necessary changes in motorists' behaviour. This paper is concerned with the effect on driver behaviour of (i) legal restrictions, (ii) the obvious presence of police, (iii) clearer instructions, (iv) propaganda and (v) a driver's attitude to his task. Some work on other factors influencing driver behaviour has also been done by the Laboratory. Legal Restrictions Various legal restrictions are imposed on drivers. There are laws which compel the 'motorist to observe traffic lights, halt signs, speed limits in certain areas or for certain vehicles, laws which regulate the lighting of vehicles and numerous other regulations. It was decided to investigate the reactions of drivers to some of these restrictions. First, with regard to speed limits, measurements were made of the speeds of vehicles on sections of road on which there were no speed restrictions for private cars, but on which speed limits were about to be imposed. These stretches of road all happened to bz on the fringes of existing 'built-up areas. After the speed limit regulations came into force t'he speeds were again measured, and Table I shows an analysis of the results. The speed limit regulations had no marked effect on the average speeds; in. three cases there was a slight increase of speed and in three cases a slight decrease. In the first five cases, on the average about half the drivers travelled at speeds greater than 30 m.p.h. Afthough there was no appreciable change in the average speeds there may have been a slight reduction in the proportion of vehicles travelling at very high speeds. There is also some indication that the * This paper was given to the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Section J, Psychology; Belfast, September, 1952.