More road hazards may reduce accidents
Jan 4 2011 by Andy Hughes, The Journal
BOREDOM is causing motorists to take unnecessary risks at the wheel, North East researchers have found.
A study by Newcastle University has revealed that one in three drivers will speed in built-up areas or dangerously overtake other cars in an attempt to seek excitement on the roads.
As a result of the findings, North East academics last night claimed that building more obstacles on the region’s roads, such as roundabouts and speed bumps, will reduce the amount of accidents.
Lead researcher Dr Joan Harvey said young drivers in particular are more prone to boredom and therefore more likely to take risks.
She said: “It would be nice to think that we could train people to be better drivers but we think that those people who would most benefit from training are the least likely to take part.
“So we’ve considered the other options and contrary to what you might expect when driving, hazards can actually increase our attention to the road so this may well be the way forward for planners.
“We may need to start considering some radical schemes, such as putting bends back into roads or introducing the concept of shared space as it would force motorists to think about their driving and pedestrians to think about cars.”
The study of 1,563 drivers published today suggests efforts to make driving easier, such as satellite navigation systems, could unintentionally provoke more accidents by contributing to the boredom which in turn makes drivers more prone to seek excitement.
Edmund King, president of the AA and visiting professor of transport at Newcastle University, said: “As cars come fitted with more gadgets to make driving easier and planners remove more of the distractions, it comes as no surprise to me that people are finding the pleasure of driving has become rather a chore. With that comes an increase in the risks drivers take as they mentally switch-off instead of focussing on the road.”
Drivers were split into four groups for the study. The first category, made up of nearly a third of drivers (31%), included those who are “easily bored, nervous and dangerous”, those most likely to have an accident.
While more younger drivers fell into this category, more women were also found to be in this group looking for driving thrills.
The largest group, making up 35% of the driving population, are described as “enthusiastic”. This kind of motorist enjoys driving, is calmer and is less likely to have an accident.
More than one in five drivers (21%) were found to “drive slowly and dislike driving”. The smallest group, 13% of motorists, were labelled “safe and slow”.
