The Programming and Implementation of Effective Driver Research and Related Counter Measures in Developing Countries 700354

In this paper it is suggested that the technical constraints of the road-vehicle system, rather than cultural factors, have become the chief determinants of driving behavior in both developed and developing countries. This could explain why the traditional programs of propaganda, punishment, selection and improvement have become relatively ineffective in influencing driving behavior. Further it would appear that at present the most feasable approach for reducing the human factor in road accidents is through the research and implementation of programs which seek a “technical fix” of drivers' problems through engineered simplifications of the driving task.

The establishment of policy and implementation of such programs, or any others, in the field of accident countermeasures is a matter of constant negotiation and renegotiation, in which the actors are government officials, scientists, application experts (traffic engineers, doctors, etc.) and the motoring public. Technical, financial, and sociological problems interact in many ways, making the selection of programs which will actually succeed in reducing accidents a highly complex matter. A preliminary conceptual model of this research and action programming process is presented and certain of its elements elaborated. The model factor concerning the probability of a countermeasures “acceptability” to its ultimate user, the individual driver, is given particular attention.