Speed and acceleration as measures of driving style in young male drivers

This study investigated different measures of speed and acceleration as indicators of safe driving style. 58 young males drove a 7.1-km test route twice in an instrumented car. Drivers were instructed to drive as they usually do. Driving style was measured by both site-specific measures (speed on a crest and speed and lateral acceleration in a sharp and a gentle curve) and general measures (maximum speed and lateral and longitudinal accelerations over the route). Analysis of variance (accident involvement x mileage) showed that drivers who had had prior accidents drove at higher speed and higher accelerations on a sharp curve than accident-free drivers. Drivers involved with accidents drove at higher maximum speed, left accelerations (at right-hand curves), and Equivalent Vector Acceleration, a mean parameter of accelerations, than accident-free drivers. However, multiple regression analysis indicated that only maximum speed predicted the number of accidents significantly. In conclusion, maximum speed seemed to be a convenient and robust measure of a safe driving style.