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AN ADAPTIVE THEORY OF ROAD SAFETY

The theory of adaptation, as a psychological theory, assumes that the human being tries to adapt its behaviour to its environment. In agreement with the hypothesis of risk compensation it is argued that roads, free of any apparent dangers, induce the drivers to drive faster and in a more risky way than he would do under circumstances where he has to adjust his behaviour to other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. So it is assumed that efforts that make driving safer through obstacle-free roads are compensated by more risky driving. In new approaches to road planning such as traffic restraint the separation of sidewalks and traffic lanes is abolished, and there is one common surface for all traffic participants. These new approaches in practice already apply the theory of adaptation. In such traffic-restrained roads interactions increase and even slight conflicts increase, but not accidents. In order to evaluate road safety under such circumstances, the change in perception and attitudes, caused by the modified road design, has to be altered in order to evaluate the effects. An analytical model of evaluation of road safety has been proposed and implemented. (TRRL)

  • Supplemental Notes:
    • This paper was presented at the OECD Seminar on Short-Term and Area-Wide Evaluation of Safety Measures, held in Amsterdam, April 19-21, 1982.
  • Corporate Authors:

    Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV

    Bezuidenhoutseweg 62
    The Hague,   Netherlands  2594 AW
  • Authors:
    • MOLT, W
    • Beyrle, H
  • Publication Date: 1982-4

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00370990
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV
  • Files: ITRD, TRIS
  • Created Date: Mar 31 1983 12:00AM