PERCEPTION OF RISK FROM AUTOMOBILE SAFETY DEFECTS

Descriptions of safety engineering defects of the kind that compel automobile manufacturers to initiate a recall campaign were evaluated by individuals on a set of risk characteristic scales that included overall vehicle riskiness, manufacturer's ability to anticipate the defect, importance for vehicle operation, severity of consequences and likelihood of compliance with a recall notice. A factor analysis of the risk characteristics indicated that judgments could by summarized in terms of two composite scales, one representing the uncontrollability of the damage the safety defect might cause and the other representing the foreseeability of the defect by the manufacturer. Motor vehicle defects were found to be highly diverse in terms of the perceived qualities of their risks. Location of individual defects within the factor space was closely associated with perceived riskiness, perceived likelihood of purchasing another car from the same manufacturer, perceived likelihood of compliance with a recall notice, and actual compliance rates.

  • Availability:
  • Corporate Authors:

    Pergamon Press, Incorporated

    Headington Hill Hall
    Oxford OX30BW,    
  • Authors:
    • SLOVIC, P
    • MacGregor, D
    • Kraus, N N
  • Publication Date: 1987-10

Media Info

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00464776
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: HS-040 390
  • Files: HSL, TRIS
  • Created Date: Dec 31 1990 12:00AM