title: Speed and acceleration as measures of driving style in young male drivers.
abstract: This study investigated different measures of speed and acceleration as indicators of safe driving style. 58 young males drove a 7.1-km test route twice in an instrumented car. Drivers were instructed to drive as they usually do. Driving style was measured by both site-specific measures (speed on a crest and speed and lateral acceleration in a sharp and a gentle curve) and general measures (maximum speed and lateral and longitudinal accelerations over the route). Analysis of variance (accident involvement x mileage) showed that drivers who had had prior accidents drove at higher speed and higher accelerations on a sharp curve than accident-free drivers. Drivers involved with accidents drove at higher maximum speed, left accelerations (at right-hand curves), and Equivalent Vector Acceleration, a mean parameter of accelerations, than accident-free drivers. However, multiple regression analysis indicated that only maximum speed predicted the number of accidents significantly. In conclusion, maximum speed seemed to be a convenient and robust measure of a safe driving style.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki. timo.lajunen@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lajunen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karola
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Summala
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001333:Automobile Driver Examination; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009038:Motion; D011336:Probability; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors