AFFECTIVE STATES INFLUENCING DRIVERS' DECISIONS AND MOTOR SKILLS

IN MANY AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS, EVENTS IMMEDIATLY PRIOR TO THE IMPACT ARE CRITICAL PREDISPOSING FACTORS. WHEN FATALITIES DO NOT RESULT FROM THE ACCIDENT, IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO LEARN THE NATURE OF SOME OF THESE EVENTS AND FACTORS BY USING INDEPTH ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION PROCEDURES. HOWEVER, WHEN AN ACCIDENT DOES RESULT IN A FATALITY, IT IS OFTEN MORE DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE THE EVENTS WHICH TRANSPIRED IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE IMPACT. MOREOVER, WITH SOME FATALITIES, EVENTS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE IMPACT MAY PLAY ONLY A SECONDARY ROLE AS PREDISPOSING FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT. IN EITHER CASE, THE PROBLEM IS TO EMPLOY SOME METHOD OF DETERMINING THE CRITICAL EVENTS WHICH OCCURRED PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. A METHOD OF OBTAINING THE NEEDED PRE-IMPACT INFORMATION IS IN USE BY THE CORNELL AERONAUTICAL LABORATORY. THIS METHOD, KNOWN AS THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AUTOPSY, IS DESCRIVBED AND AN EXAMPLE IS GIVEN. /TRRL/

• Corporate Authors:

  Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV

  Bezuidenhoutseweg 62
  The Hague,   Netherlands  2594 AW
• Authors:
  • Zavala, A
• Publication Date: 1972

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 15 p.
• Serial:
  • Psychological Aspects of Driver Behaviour
  • Publisher: Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Crash causes; Crashes; Decision making; Drivers; Fatalities; Interviewing; Psychological aspects
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver interviews
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222499
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: Conf Paper, HS-013 476, HS-013 490
• Contract Numbers: PHS-UI00066
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 11 1974 12:00AM