LONG TRIP DRIVING HABITS OF CALIFORNIA DRIVERS: GENERAL FINDINGS

THE POPULATION OF LONG TRIP DRIVERS IN CALIFORNIA IS DESCRIBED, WITH IDENTIFICATION OF EXTREMES OF PERFORMANCE IN LONG TRIP EXECUTION, AND WITH THE RELATIONSHIPS OF BOTH THE EXTREMES AND THE MODAL GROUPS TO DRIVING RECORD AS AN INDEX OF OVERALL DRIVING PERFORMANCE. THE LARGE MAJORITY OF LONG TRIP DRIVERS PLAN AND EXECUTE THEIR TRIPS WITHIN VERY REASONABLE BOUNDARY CONDITIONS. IN CONTRAST TO THE PERFORMANCE OF THE AVERAGE LONG TRIP DRIVER, A GROUP OF DRIVERS (POSSIBLY UP TO 10% OF THE LONG TRIP DRIVING POPULATION) HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS OPERATING UNDER EXTREME CONDITIONS OF OVER-EXTENDED DRIVING. THE RELATIVELY EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF SINGLE-VEHICLE LONG TRIP ACCIDENTS BY HOUR OF DAY, TOGETHER WITH A HIGH DRIVER FATIGUE FACTOR AND THE HIGH NIGHTTIME INCIDENCE OF BOTH SINGLE-AND MULTIPLE-VEHICLE ACCIDENTS, SUPPORTS THE HYPOTHESIS THAT OVER-EXTENSION BEYOND THE NORMAL DAY'S CYCLE OF ACTIVITY IS A CAUSAL FACTOR IN MANY LONG TRIP ACCIDENTS. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Ucla-eng-7089, 118 PP, APPS
• Corporate Authors:

  University of California, Berkeley

  Institute of Transportation and Traffic Engineering
  Berkeley, CA  United States 
• Authors:
  • Mellinger, R L
• Publication Date: 1970-4

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash causes; Distance; Driver performance; Drivers; Driving; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Intercity transportation; Multiple vehicle crashes; Night; Personnel performance; Single vehicle crashes; Traffic
• Old TRIS Terms: Long distance traffic
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223404
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 18 1971 12:00AM