Behaviour is a manner in which a person act or conduct themselves. A multi-level skilled behaviour is needed to conduct the act of driving as driving in itself is a complex activity. But, the driving behaviour of most of the drivers is automatic which is developed through experiences which mean that during emergency situations, this automatic behaviour may not be fitting to get you out of the situation. Besides that, some driver behaviour such as being aggressive, ignorant, arrogant, angry, distracted, etc, itself can lead to life-threatening accidents (Murcotts.edu.au).

 

          A total of 1.24 million fatalities were reported in 2013 itself and between 20 to 50 million injuries are reported annually (World Health Organisation, 2013). Another research that was conducted showed that driver behaviour itself contributed to more than 90% of road accidents (Greaves et al., 2015). According to the World Health Organisation (2009), it has been predicted that road accidents and injuries will increase tremendously to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030. There are a number of factors that lead to road accidents such as driver capability and behaviour, environmental factors, speed, and deficiencies in infrastructure and vehicle.

 

          Fuller (2004) depicts imperatives of driver capability, ―Driver capability is at first constrained by natural attributes of the driver, for example, data handling limit and speed, response time, physical reach, engine coordination, adaptability, and strength. Based on top of these attributes are knowledge and skills emerging out of training and experience. He also further examines the skill of drivers, and how the capability is defenseless against a large group of human component factors, including ―factors of disposition, motivation, exertion, fatigue, drowsiness, time-of-day, medications, diversion, feelings, and stress‖.

 

       Other factors may also contribute to the occurrence of road accidents such as lack of sleep, ingesting of substances like alcoholic beverages, caffeine, drug, as well as environmental factors which may all play a role in the matter of drowsiness or unexpected falling asleep (Campagne et al., 2005). Hussain et al (2006) revealed that driving above the speed limit or unfitting speed is the main culprit behind a third of all deadly crashes because when a vehicle travels at a high speed, the less time is available to process and respond to the information (Fuller, 2004).

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          Road accidents often occur due to the deficiencies in the driver behaviour, infrastructure system, or even the vehicle itself (Eksler et al., 2008). Accident analysis has presented sufficient corroboration that high speed, consumption of alcohol, and the weight of the vehicle all contributes to the fatal accidents that occur daily (Vereeck & Vrolix, 2007).

 

          The Worldwide Health Organization (2009) states that prevention is necessary to reduce road accidents. This can be done by making secure vehicles as well as streets, and improving our own conduct on the streets which would then diminish road injuries and fatalities.

 

 

 

WRITTEN BY: ISWERPREET KAUR A/P PIARA SINGH

 

REFERENCES

Ellison, A., Greaves, S. and Bliemer, M. (2015). Driver behaviour profiles for road safety analysis. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 76, pp.118-132.

 

Murcotts.edu.au. (n.d.). Driver Behaviour — Murcotts Driving Excellence. [online] Available at: https://www.murcotts.edu.au/resources/driver-behaviour-training/driver-behaviour [Accessed 6 Jun. 2017].

 

McHugh, T. (2011). An Analysis of Road Safety and Older Driver Behaviour. Masters. Dublin Institute of Technology.

 

Khan, S., Khalifah, Z., Munir, Y., Islam, T., Nazir, T. and Khan, H. (2014). Driving behaviours, traffic risk and road safety: comparative study between Malaysia and Singapore. International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 22(4), pp.359-367.

 

Fuller, R., (2004), ―Towards a general theory of driver behaviour, Accident and Analysis Prevention, 37 (2005) pp. 461-472.

 

Campagne, A., Pebayle, T., & Muzet, A. (2004) ―Correlations between driving errors and vigilance level: influence of the drivers age, Physiology & Behaviour, 80 (4) pp. 515-524.

 

Eksler V., Lassarre, S., Thomas, I (2008). "Regional analysis of road mortality in Europe," Public Health 122, (2008): 826--837.

 

Vereeck, L., & Vrolix, K. (2007). The social willingness to comply with the law: The effect of social attitudes on traffic fatalities, International Review of Law and Economics, 27 pp. 385-408.

 

Hussain, O.T., Nayyar, M.S., Brady, F.A., Beirne, J.C., & Stassen, L.F.A., (2006), ―Speeding and maxillofacial injuries: Impact of the introduction of penalty points for speeding offences, British Journal of Maxillofacial Surgery, 44 pp. 15-19.