Driver's Views and Behaviors about Safety in China: What do They NOT Know about Driving?

Due to rapid motorization, driver safety in China has become severely problematic, and the fatality risk due to road accidents will continue increasing. Thus, focus groups were organized to examine driver attitudes and safe driver characteristics to discern the reasons for the high fatality rate in China. The results were then compared with a similar study conducted with US drivers. Although similarities were found, differences were more significant. A major difference was that Chinese drivers concentrate more on driving skills and capabilities, while the US drivers concentrate more on practical safe driving guidelines. When researchers conducted direct field observations on the Chinese drivers, they found that their safety belt use ratio was about 64%, running light use was nearly zero during rainy and snowy weather, headlights use after sunset was substantially delayed, and only 40% of drivers use their turn signals to indicate their intention to change lanes. These findings demonstrate that the government needs to take more effective countermeasures to change the attitudes of the Chinese drivers regarding their unsafe driving behaviors.

• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V5S-4GSJR87-2/2/68c4c9d6b3a70d93ff5d7e31d01b82e0
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
• Authors:
  • Zhang, Wei
  • Huang, Yueng-Hsiang
  • Roetting, Matthias
  • Wing, Wang
  • Wei, Hua
• Publication Date: 2006-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 22-27
• Serial:
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention
  • Volume: 38
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0001-4575
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Automobile drivers; Daytime running lamps; Field studies; Focus groups; Headlamps; High risk drivers; Highway safety; Highway travel; Lane changing; Seat belts; Signaling; Traffic crashes; Travel behavior; Turn signals; Weather conditions
• Geographic Terms: China
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01013446
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 10 2005 9:54PM