Prediction of police officers' traffic accident involvement using behavioral observations

The current study used scores on the Driver Performance Measurement (DPM) test and data gathered over four years on accident type and frequency from 47 police officers to provide evidence that cognitive-behavioral observations of driving patterns can lead to predictions of subsequent accident involvement. Results indicate that after controlling for age and experience, scores on the DPM test predicted involvement in preventable accidents but not unpreventable accidents. Implications for future research involving the observation of cognitive-behavioral sequences are discussed.