SURVIVAL OF DEVIANCE. A MODEL FOR DRIVER BEHAVIOUR. FINAL REPORT

The report presents a driver behavior model elaborated under a Strategic Institute Program (SIP) on Driver Behavior Models that took place at TOI 1998-2003. The model attempts to integrate different aspects that influence driver behavior. The model is based on the axiom that man's deepest motive is survival, which in turn presumes that the organism is able to detect and deal with dangers in its surroundings. A risk monitor is proposed as the core of the present model, a monitor that perceives, processes information, makes decisions, which in turn is influenced by personality traits, motives and interaction patterns. Emotions and feelings play a key role in the monitor's handling of dangers. The model incorporates interaction with the environment and enables an understanding of how the organism's ability to detect dangers can be disturbed by inherent and external factors. The report also presents examples of modal applications as basis for road safety measures.