Traffic psychology

• Traffic psychology deals with the noncognitive, cognitive, and sensory-motor aspects of people in the context of driving, dealing with traffic, and dealing with others. By identifying feelings that cause cognitive thoughts, traffic psychology allows the understanding of resulting actions and gives a way of modifying behavior.
• Traffic psychology can be defined as a tool that through subjective analysis, helps to increase the overall quality of lives through behavioral observation, identification, and modification.

• The task of traffic psychology is to understand, predict and provide measures to modify road user behavior at levels identified with a general objective to minimize the harmful effects of traffic participation.[6]

Behavior research in traffic psychology often deals with subjects like motivation, personality and gender differences, habits, overconfidence, age and skill differences, attention, and violation of traffic rules.[7]

Yield sign

A classification of behavioral factors into those that reduce driving capability and those that promote risky behavior with further division into those with short- and long-term impact helps the conceptualization of the problems and may contribute to the prioritization of behavior modification.[8]

Traffic and transport sciences concern themselves with the study, comprehension, explanation and prediction of everything related to the mobility of people and products. It incorporates several aspects of the transportation systems along with multiple techniques. This process attempts to develop valid and reliable methods to better understand and predict the effects of human variability with its environmental interactions on safety.[9]

The transportation system consists of road, rail, sea and air infrastructures. It includes the possibilities and limitations of its economics, laws and regulations, which sets barriers to the capabilities of an individual and mass motorist. For instance, speed can be influenced by method of travel (vehicle, airplane, train or ship), by financial capabilities for the type of vehicle (jet versus commercial, speed boat against sail boat and sedan compared to a luxury sports car), or by regulations such as speed limits in rural areas versus city driving.

The traffic environment takes into account location, time constraints, population and dangers that are exposed to motorists. These environmental factors pose danger and risk to motorists that may be fatal. Driving in wet, narrow, and dark conditions exposes drivers to far greater risk than driving on a sunny day on an open road. This is just one type of road factor for crashes that Sullman goes on to explain in further detail:

…crashes include lack of visibility or obstructions, unclean road or loose material, poor road conditions or road markings, and the horizontal curvature of the road. Environmental influences such as cold or hot weather, noise and vibration are all more likely to impact on stress and fatigue states [10]

Variability of the driver's age, personality, temperament, stress and expertise affect speed, control and decisions. Drivers generally use some degree of risk compensation to assess driving decisions and it is skewed by varying levels of intoxication. Alcohol and drug usage, alertness and fatigue, distraction and focus are a few of the main factors attributed to driver error and crashes.[11]

In addition to behavior research, crash research is also a component in traffic psychology, looking at driving methodology, individual differences, characteristics of personality, temporary impairments, and relevant capabilities, the driver as an information processor (includes perception and reaction times), human factors on highway crashes, and the pedestrian (identifying vulnerability, causes and prevention of crashes).[12]

Rehabilitation counseling is a process because of the many steps involved for an individual to become self-reliant. A driver rehabilitation specialist (DRS) is one who “plans, develops, coordinates and implements driving service for individuals with disabilities” [19] DSR's may come from backgrounds such as physical therapy, psychology, and driver education.

Evaluating a driver requires many aspects. A clinical assessment includes a review of the medical history, driving history, and driving needs. Visual and perceptual assessment along range of motion, motor strength, coordination, sensation, reaction time and cognitive assessment is a crucial aspect and the focus of the medical history evaluation.

“An initial driver evaluation can last one to four hours, depending on the client’s presenting disabilities and driving needs. Following the clinical assessment, clients undergo an on-road assessment if they meet the minimum state standards for health and vision, and the client holds a valid driver’s license or permit. The on-road assessment is performed in a driver rehabilitation vehicle equipped with dual brakes, rear-view mirror and eye-check mirror for the DRS, and any necessary adaptive equipment” [20]

The goal in the rehabilitation process is to have the individual realize their condition and attempt to reinstate them into a driving environment in which they will pose no threat to others.

Transportation psychology has emerged rapidly since the 1980s and, from its inception, has followed an interdisciplinary approach and has shared common topics with other fields, in particular medicine (e.g. driving aptitude), engineering (e.g. ergonomics and human factors), and economics (e.g. travel demand management). Mobility, including its positive and negative repercussions, originates in people's decisions and behavior – and these could be influenced. The main causes of traffic crashes are errors due to maladaptive behavior in interaction with roadways or other vehicles.

• Cognitive ergonomics
• Engineering psychology
• Human factors
• Mental chronometry
• Road rage
• Karl Peglau
• Media related to Traffic psychology at Wikimedia Commons
• Roundabout

• Traffic and transportation psychology
• PASS - Psychological and medical assistance for safe mobility Archived 2017-09-18 at the Wayback Machine. An interdisciplinary model to promote and secure mobility competence in Europe.
• Barjonet, P. E. (Hrsg). (2001). Traffic psychology today. Boston, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
• Groeger, J. A.; Rothengatter, J. A. (1998). "Traffic psychology and behavior". Transportation Research Part F. 1 (1): 1–9. doi:10.1016/s1369-8478(98)00007-2.
• James, Leon and Nahl, Diane. Road Rage and Aggressive Driving (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2000.)
• Novaco, R. W. (2001). Psychology of Transportation. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 15878-15882.
• Rothengatter, T. & Huguenin, D. (eds.) (2004). Traffic and Transport Psychology. Theory and Application. Proceedings of the ICTTP 2000. Oxford: Elsevier.
• Underwood, G. (ed.) (2005). Traffic and Transport Psychology. Theory and Application. Proceedings of the ICTTP 2004. Oxford: Elsevier.
• Wilde G. J. S. (1994). Target risk: dealing with the danger of death, disease and damage in everyday decisions. Toronto: PDE Publ.