title: The social accident: a theoretical model and a research agenda for studying the influence of social and cultural characteristics on motor vehicle accidents.
abstract: The paper develops a sociological model to explain collisions between two drivers or more. The "Social Accident" model presented here integrates empirical findings from prior studies and extant sociological theories. Sociological theory posits that social groups have unique cultural characteristics, which include a distinctive world view and ways of operating that influence its members. These cultural characteristics may cause drivers in different groups to interpret a given situation differently; therefore, they will make conflicting decisions that may possibly lead to road accidents. The proposed model may contribute to an understanding of the social mechanism related to interactions and communication among drivers by presenting new directions for understanding accidents and collisions. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research that will employ the model to assess its predictive and practical utility.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Transportation Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. ronif@tx.technion.ac.il
authors.forename: Roni
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Factor
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mahalel
authors.forename: Gad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yair
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D015984:Causality; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012931:Social Environment; D012945:Social Values