Citation

Cooper PJ. J. Saf. Res. 1997; 28(2): 83-95.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

While it seems rational to assume that crash involvement risk and outcome are influenced by the way one drives, nevertheless there is continuing controversy over the validity of certain categories of traffic law infractions as true measures of such behavior. Specifically, does the accumulation of tickets for speeding identify drivers as high risk for becoming culpably involved in speed-related crashes? Further, does a proclivity for exhibiting speeding behavior in the presence of police translate into a greater risk for involvement in high-severity collisions?The research reported in this paper attempted to address these issues. Several years of crash and conviction data were utilized to examine 1. (a) the risk of culpable crash involvement by severity of outcome during a 2-year period following 3 years of conviction record,2. (b) the degree to which an increasing level of speeding convictions per driver relates to an increasing propensity for speed to be a factor in drivers' crash involvements. The results of the research identified a clear distinction between the conviction categories of "exceeding the speed limit" and "excessive speed" in terms of these accident-violation relationships.