Title page for ETD etd-030499-155424

Type of Document

Dissertation

Author

Boyce, Thomas Edward

Author's Email Address

thboyce@vt.edu

URN

etd-030499-155424

Title

Identifying Functional Relationships in Driver Risk Taking: An Intelligent Transportation Assessment of Problem Behavior and Driving Style

Degree

PhD

Department

Psychology

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name	Title
Geller, E. Scott	Committee Chair
Finney, Jack W.	Committee Member
Kleiner, Brian M.	Committee Member
Prestrude, Albert M.	Committee Member
Winett, Richard A.	Committee Member

Keywords

behavior analysis
intelligent transportation
risk-taking
demographics personality
driving

Date of Defense

1999-02-16

Availability

unrestricted

Abstract

Intelligent transportation systems data collected
on drivers who presumably participated in a study
of cognitive mapping and way-finding were
evaluated with two basic procedures for data
coding, including analysis of video data based on
the occurrence or non-occurrence of a) critical
behaviors during consecutive 15 second intervals
of a driving trial, and b) the safe alternative
when a safe behavior opportunity was available.
Methods of data coding were assessed for practical
use, reliability, and sensitivity to variation in
driving style. A factor analysis of at-risk
driving behaviors identified a cluster of
correlated driving behaviors that appeared to
share a common characteristic identified as
aggressive/impatient driving. The relationship
between personality and driving style was also
assessed. That is, analysis of the demographics
and personality variables associated with the
occurrence of at-risk driving behaviors revealed
that driver Age and Type A personality
characteristics were significant predictors of
vehicle speed and following distance to the
preceding vehicle. Results are
discussed with regard to implications for safe
driving interventions and problem behavior theory.

Files

Filename		Size	Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)
Filename		Size	28.8 Modem	56K Modem	ISDN (64 Kb)	ISDN (128 Kb)	Higher-speed Access
	thboyce-final.pdf	235.93 Kb	00:01:05	00:00:33	00:00:29	00:00:14	00:00:01