Citation

Brown ID, Copeman AK. Accid. Anal. Prev. 1975; 7(1): 15-26.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1975, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper reports a preliminary study of the consistency with which British motorists rank-order traffic offences for seriousness, and the absolute ratings of seriousness attached to offences by different sub-groups of the population. There was a significantly high level of concordance among all subjects on the overall rank-ordering of offences for seriousness. However, there was a significant interaction between effects of the subjects' age and sex on absolute ratings of seriousness. Younger males rated most offences reliably less serious than younger females or older males. Older females tended to rate offences more seriously than all other subgroups and consistently more seriously than younger males. Younger males also under-rated the seriousness of their own responsibility for offensive driving, compared with other subgroups. These attitudinal differences are discussed in relation to the design of sanctions as differential feedback on behavioural requirements within the traffic system.