SOCIAL-ROLE CORRELATES OF DRIVING ACCIDENTS

In the replication of a previous study (Clark, 1976), a Driver Role Scale once again discriminated between groups of young men in manual occupations with and without accident records. Extensions to the original study found that a Drink Scale and a Leisure Satisfaction Scale also discriminated between the groups, but a Conflicting Communications Scale and a Job Satisfaction Scale showed no difference between the groups. The results are consistent with a model that sees peers as critical role senders requiring drinking, driving, and risk taking. The conclusion is that young men involved in accidents, although not embedded is severely pathogenic social networks, are open to peer group influences that heighten their chances of being involved in accidents. This reinforces the view expressed previously that peer groups rather than the driver himself should be the target and medium for change in safety campaigns. The results can be generalized to motorcycle operation for several reasons: concentration of motorcycle ownership among younger men; a much higher rate of casualty accidents among motorcycles than cars, more than half the motorcyclist fatalities being males under 21; likelihood of young motorcyclists to be subjected to peer pressure to take risks; and likelihood of drinking and riding to be prevalent among young male motorcyclists.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Conference held in Washington, D.C., 18-23 May 1980. Also published in HS-029 680, International Motorcycle Safety Conference Proceedings. Volume 2, p 857-68.
• Corporate Authors:

  Motorcycle Safety Foundation

  780 Elkridge Landing Road
  Linthicum, MD  United States  21090
• Authors:
  • Clark, A W
  • Prolisko, A
• Publication Date: 1980

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 12 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crashes; Drivers; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Hazards; Males; Motorcyclists; Peer groups; Risk assessment; Social factors
• Old TRIS Terms: Male drivers; Peer pressure
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00390502
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-029 697
• Files: HSL, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Nov 30 1984 12:00AM