Modifying driver behaviour with passenger feedback

A feedback programme was employed to help drivers improve their safety behaviour based on the idea that particular types of driver error result from contingency traps as defined by Fuller [Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, 24 (1991) 73]. Two drivers and their single respective passengers participated. For each driver, repeated in-car observations were made of four unsafe driving behaviours. Two of these were sequentially targeted in the behavioural intervention that involved the passengers providing informational feedback to their driver. Both drivers showed a marked improvement across the targeted behaviours. The study demonstrated the applicability of behaviour analysis to the traffic domain and the efficacy of individual feedback as a behavioural tool for positive behaviour modification.

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