Traffic psychology is a young, expanding and wide field in psychology. Whereas traffic psychology is primarily related to the study of the behavior of road users and the psychological processes underlying that behavior (Rothengatter, 1997, 223) as well as to the relationship between behavior and accidents, transportation psychology, sometimes referred to as mobility psychology, focuses on mobility issues, individual and social factors in the movement of people and goods, and travel demand management (TDM).
There is no single theoretical framework in traffic psychology, but, instead, many specific models explaining, for example, the perceptual, attentional, cognitive, social, motivational and emotional determinants of mobility and traffic behaviour. One of the most prominent behavioral models divides the various tasks involved in traffic participation into three hierarchical levels, i.e. the strategic, the tactical and the operational level. The model demonstrates the diversity of decision and control tasks which have to be accomplished when driving a vehicle. However, until now, most of the psychological models have had a rather heuristic nature, e.g. risk theories such as the risk compensation hypothesis, Fuller's task capability model, and thus are not sufficiently precise to allow for concrete behavioral prediction and control. This is partly due to the importance of individual differences, a major topic of psychology which has not yet been sufficiently accounted for in traffic and transportation. On the other hand, social and psychological attitude/behavior models, such as Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, have been helpful in identifying determinants of mobility decisions.
Bringing together the scientific and practical lines, six areas of traffic and transportation psychology can be distinguished (Schlag, 1999):
This is particularly in relation to different groups of road users (age groups, modes of transport), but also in relation to road design and motor vehicles. Explaining and predicting road user behavior depends on the development of valid and reliable models about the role of human factors in mobility behavior, and, especially, driver performance. Psychological traffic accident and behavior research deals with matters such as:
This comprises education and information, above all following the “4 Es”: enforcement, education, engineering, encouragement/economy. The main goal is promoting safety by influencing and modifying behavior using legal, educational, vehicle- and road-specific measures; driver training, driving-instructor education, information on traffic issues, campaign design and marketing, effective enforcement.
The main objective is user-oriented supply and design in as practical a form as possible. This includes differentiation between transportation needs of special groups (the elderly, the handicapped, young people, etc.). The main topics are
Psychology in car manufacturing traditionally deals with questions of ergonomics, but since the 1980s new in-car devices and related new infrastructure have emerged as a rapidly growing field. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and new information systems are designed to support the driver in an appropriate, user-oriented way. Based on analyses of driving tasks which drivers have to cope with, e.g. multiple tasks requiring divided attention, psychologists’ primary orientation in the design process is towards human needs. This involves defining the technical requirements, human-centred development and usability of ADAS, the operability of Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI), behavioral adaptation and risk compensation, acceptance of innovations, and social impacts.
This kind of assessment and counselling is for drivers who display irregular behavior. It involves driver assessment, training and rehabilitation, above all for drivers with offences (driving while intoxicated, severe offences against traffic laws), aptitude assessment for driving, selection and training for professional drivers.
Some of the fields mentioned above not only apply to road traffic but also to rail and air transport. Nevertheless, in some ways, rail and flight psychology have historically developed separately from traffic psychology, which is dominantly road-related. One major new direction in rail and flight psychology is the shift in focus from the perspective of the professional operator (selection and training) to that of the customer (quality of service, usability).
From its very beginning, in research and practice, traffic psychology has followed an interdisciplinary approach and has shared common topics with other fields, in particular medicine (e.g. related to driving aptitude), engineering (ergonomics of cars as well as human factors in traffic planning), and economics (e.g. travel demand management). People as road users are seen as the core of an interactive traffic system also comprising transportation means, routes, traffic environment and regulation. Thus, mobility, including its positive as well as detrimental impacts, originates in people’s desires, decisions and behavior – and these might be influenced. The main accident causes are human errors and maladaptive behavior, accounting alone or in interaction with roadway or vehicle-related causes for more than 90% of all traffic accidents. Recognizing the possible impact of psychology in studying and solving transport problems, traffic and transportation psychology has emerged rapidly since the 1980s.
International Conference on Driver Behaviour,http://www.icdbt.com/