BIOGRAPHICAL AND MEDICAL DATA ABOUT THE AUTOMOBILE DRIVER - A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A SYSTEMS ANALYSIS OF SAFE AUTOMOBILE DRIVING PERFORMANCE REVEALS THAT IT CONSISTS OF THREE COMPONENTS: THE DRIVER, THE VEHICLE, AND THE HIGHWAY. THE FUNDAMENTAL CONTROLLING FACTOR IS THE OPERATOR OF THE VEHICLE. THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS COMPRISING THE HUMAN FACTORS PART OF THE DRIVER LICENSING PROCEDURES ARE DISCUSSED. PERSONALITY VARIABLES ARE INVESTIGATED BY DRIVER ATTITUDE SURVEYS AND PERSONALITY AND ATTITUDE SURVEYS THAT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN VARYING CATEGORIES OF DRIVERS. HIGH-ACCIDENT SUBJECTS MAY WELL BE PSYCHOLOGICALLY MORE COMPLEX THAN THE NO-ACCIDENT SUBJECTS, LESS CONVENTIONAL AND LESS IN HARMONY WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT. ANOTHER VARIABLE THAT COULD BE USED AS A PREDICTOR IS PREVIOUS DRIVING RECORDS. AGE, SEX, AND MEDICAL FACTORS ARE VARIABLES OF DRIVER PERFORMANCE. A MAJOR VARIABLE STUDIED IS THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. SINCE ALMOST EVERY DRIVING DECISION IS BASED ON VISION, VISION WILL BECOME EVEN MORE VITAL AS HIGHWAYS IMPROVE AND VEHICLES GAIN IN HORSEPOWER. THE IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS FOR THE INITIAL DRIVER LICENSE APPLICATION OR THE NEED TO REVIEW THESE REQUIREMENTS IN TERMS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS CANNOT BE MINIMIZED. NO ONE BIOGRAPHICAL OR PERSONALITY VARIABLE OR COMBINATION OF ANY OF THESE VARIABLES IS FOUND TO PREDICT DRIVING PERFORMANCE TO A SIGNIFICANT EXTENT. EMPHASIS SHOULD BE ON DETECTING THOSE WITH ANY SHORTCOMINGS OR DEFICIENCIES AND IMPROVING THEIR DRIVING PERFORMANCE BY REMOVING THESE. SUGGESTED REMEDIES ARE DISCUSSED.

• Record URL:
  • https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrnews/hr-news-37-02.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 37, pp 51-61, 51 REF. 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:
  • Antia, K H
• Publication Date: 1969

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: pp 51-61
• Serial:
  • Highway Research News
  • Issue Number: 37

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Alcohols; Attitudes; Behavior; Driver licensing; Driver performance; Drivers; Gender; High risk drivers; Human factors; Medical examinations and tests; Personnel performance; Reviews; Traffic safety; Vision
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver psychology; Driver vision
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223078
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 29 1994 12:00AM