ABSTRACT

Drivingavehiclesafelyonpublicroadsrequiresacomplexsetofperceptualand informationprocessingskills.Inaddition,thedrivermustbeabletomakeacoordinatedphysicalresponseandhavetheabilitytorespondappropriatelytoawide rangeofdemands.Witheverincreasingtrafficvolumes,thecognitivedemands placedondriverscanonlyincrease,andthiswillrequiremoreextensivetraining programmesandimprovementsinassessmentmethods.However,existingmodels ofhowdriversfunction,whichfocusoninformationprocessingandtheabilityto respondtoevents,provideonlyapartialexplanationofpotentialproblems.Driving avehicleisaprocessthattakesplacewithinabroadersocialcontext.Thisisoften viewedintermsofdriversbeingisolatedor'insulated'fromothersanddisplaying over-confident,impatientandaggressivebehaviour.Incidentsof'roadrage'are frequentlypresentedasevidencethatfrustration,stressandangercanresultina violentresponse.Whilstthismaybetrue,itdoesnottakefullaccountof personalityvariables,orthewider,socialperceptionsthatshapedrivers 'behaviour.

Introduction