Occupation, driving experience, and risk and accident perception

A study on risk perception and causal explanations of road accidents was conducted on 553 subjects with various kinds of experience and knowledge about traffic and automobile driving. Accident and risk perception was studied by means of three independent variables: the subjects' occupation, driving experience, and accident history. The results showed that all categories of subjects were inclined to overestimate the threat represented by the risk of a road accident. Furthermore, all subjects tended to make more external causal attributions that defended their role in traffic safety and accident prevention. Experienced drivers, but also less experienced ones, exhibited a higher level of risk-taking than other subjects, and also made more external and fatalistic causal attributions. Finally, accident history does not seem to have a notable effect on accident and risk perception, but it does appear to result in more cautious behaviour. The findings are discussed in terms of their possible contribution to accident diagnosis and prevention.