INFLUENCE OF DRIVER CHARACTERISTICS ON PASSENGER CAR OPERATION

DURING A COOPERATIVE PROJECT CONDUCTED IN 1940 BY THE YALE INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RELATIONS AND THE PUBLIC ROADS ADMINISTRATION INVESTIGATIONS WERE MADE IN CONNECTICUT, SOUTH CAROLINA, AND CALIFORNIA TO DETERMINE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE DRIVING SPEEDS ON MAIN RURAL HIGHWAYS. THE RESULTS OF THE CONNECTICUT AND SOUTH CAROLINA INVESTIGATIONS WERE REPORTED BY DR. HARRY R. DE SILVA IN THE 1940 PROCEEDINGS. THE FINDINGS OF THIS INVESTIGATION ARE BASED ON DATA GATHERED IN CALIFORNIA. DRIVING SPEEDS WERE CORRELATED WITH THE KNOWN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DRIVERS AND THEIR VEHICLES TO DETERMINE THE INFLUENCE OF THE VARIOUS CHARACTERISTICS ON TRAVEL SPEEDS. IN ADDITION, AN ANALYSIS WAS MADE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DRIVERS WHO FAIL TO KEEP THEIR VEHICLES IN THE PROPER TRAFFIC LANE WHEN MEETING VEHICLES TRAVELING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. OF THE SEVERAL DRIVER AND VEHICLE AND VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS INCLUDED IN THE INVESTIGATION, TRIP DISTANCE AND VEHICLE AGE WERE FOUND TO HAVE CONSIDERABLY GREATER INFLUENCE ON TRAVEL SPEED THAN ANY OF THE OTHERS. DRIVERS ON LONG TRIPS AND THOSE WITH NEW VEHCILES TRAVEL FASTER AND EXCEED THE SPEED LIMIT MORE OFTEN THAN THE AVERAGE DRIVER. MEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 25 AND 29 AND THE YOUNGEST GROUP OF WOMEN DRIVE FASTER AND EXCEED THE SPEED LIMIT MORE OFTEN THAN OTHER AGE GROUPS OPERATING THE SAME AGE VEHICLES ON TRIPS OF CORRESPONDING LENGTH. VEHICLES MOST APT TO BE PARTLY IN THE WRONG TRAFFIC LANE WHEN MEETING ONCOMING TRAFFIC ARE OPERATED BY SLOW SPEED DRIVERS, WOMEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 30 AND 39, MEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 40 AND 49, BUSINESSMEN, SKILLED LABORERS, OR HOUSEWIVES. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  • https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbproceedings/24/24-031.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 24, pp 318-331, 6 FIG, 10 TAB. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Normann, O K
• Publication Date: 1945

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board (Unassembled)
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Proceedings
  • Volume: 24
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Drivers; Human characteristics; Psychological aspects; Rural highways; Speed; Speed limits; Vehicle characteristics; Wrong way driving
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver characteristics
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222776
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 22 1994 12:00AM