Characterizing Driver Behaviors Relevant to Traffic Safety: A Multistage Approach

This article used a multistage methodology to characterize driver behaviors relevant to traffic safety in the United Arab Emirates. The first stage utilized traffic violations and accident records to quantify the types and frequencies of the most common unsafe driving behaviors. Experts in traffic safety and law enforcement were interviewed in the second stage to confirm the findings of the first stage and to identify the most suitable measures to limit such unsafe behaviors. The third stage of the study entailed studying unsafe driving behaviors from a psychological perspective. Finally, drivers were surveyed to obtain their own assessment of attitudes and behaviors affecting traffic safety. A probability-based approach was adopted based on the results of statistical cross classification to identify the percentage of the frequent violators in the population, and the most common negative behavior forms (among the overall drivers population). The joint probabilities of having more than one type of frequent violations were estimated. The chi-squared values were also estimated to quantify the strength of relation among the violations and their causes. Finally, recommendations were made to limit the drivers' negative behaviors.