Test behavioural patterns of drivers reduce accidents: IISc team

Bengaluru: On Christmas Eve, four people were killed on Lingarajapuram flyover when a speeding BMTC bus collided with five vehicles, including two bikes, a goods auto and a cycle.

The tragedy, argue experts at the Indian Institute of Science, is that a simple psychological assessment of drivers before issuing licences could have saved many lives.

A team from the Department of Civil Engineering, IISc, found through a study that the correlation between those who showed extremes in four psychological parameters were up to 200% more prone to accidents than those in the mid ranges.

They worked with 160 drivers from KSRTC and with licence applicants supplied by the Yeshwantpur RTO.

"First, we worked with visual ability, but we realised that the behavioural perspective is crucial to safety on roads," said Dr Ashish Verma, Assistant Professor, Dept of Civil Engineering, IISc, who led the study.

Four behavioural parameters were used to study driver behaviour – Sensation Seeking, Boredom Susceptibility, Disinhibition, Experience Seeking and Thrill and Adventure Seeking.

"We found that people with very high or very low scores in any of the parameters were much more accident prone than the rest," explained Dr verma.

Extreme levels of Boredom susceptibility showed a 200% correlation (for those in the very high scale and 110% for very low) with one's chances of getting into an accident.

According to Dr verma, these people are far more likely to be affected by fatigue and fall asleep at the wheel or lose control of the vehicle. "This causes accidents at odd hours of the day and night," he said.

Experience seeking drivers are very common here in Bengaluru! "They tend to resond to unfamiliar, complex stimuli," said Dr Verma.

An unwillingness to follow road laws, overspeeding and cutting across lanes are all exhibited by those who have very high scores in this section.

"The ones with low levels of experience seeking behvaiour are also in danger, because they tend to lose confidence and become anxious in complex situations," said Dr Verma.

Those with very high tendencies are 166% more likely to meet with an accident than those in the mid ranges.

Brazen youth testing fast cars on the city's outskirts, reckless speeding, racing on highways and drunken driving all come under Thrill and Adventure Seeking Behaviour.

Peer pressure has a role to play in this, for a lot of the behaviour depends on who or what is motivating the driver at that time. "Young people like to experiment with speed and show high levels of this tendency," said Dr Verma.

"They are also much more likely to drive after a night of drinking and wild parties." Those who tested very high in this aspect showed a 112% correlation, while those with lower showed a 150% correlation.

"All these factors are not taken into account here in India," said Dr Verma. The team has also developed a 15-module test that focuses on various levels of driver training, including higher order issues like goals for life, context of driving, abilities in different situations and manoeuvering skills.

"We have found that behavioural patterns play a major role in driver safety, driving tests must take cognisance of them.”