Drivers act like 'higher animals' on the road

DRIVERS ignore the risk they pose to pedestrians because they consider themselves to be higher in the animal pecking order, according to research published yesterday.

A report by the AA Foundation for Road Safety Research found that, while drivers were generally aware of the risks they faced, they significantly underestimated the dangers they posed to pedestrians. Because they were cocooned with stereos in the safety of their cars, motorists tended not to see pedestrians, who pose no threat, putting them at the bottom of the road-users' hierarchy of dominance.

If drivers did see pedestrians, they tended to overestimate the chances of a pedestrian's survival if hit by a car, the report said. Road-safety publicity is unlikely to change these attitudes and money is best spent on engineering and environmental measures to increase pedestrian safety.

The animal instincts also come to the fore in situations where two lanes are merging and drivers jockey for position. The situation can quickly lead to chaos, according to Derek Packham, one of the authors of the report.

'It is only necessary for a few drivers to behave aggressively for many people to feel threatened, and when people feel threatened, they behave in an unpredictable way,' he said.

While attitudes to drink-driving had changed over the years, with a recognition of its dangers, speeding was considered to be neither a crime nor dangerous. That view had to be challenged but the chances of doing so were undermined because drivers also tend to overestimate their skill. While they recognise that drivers are generally the cause of accidents, most see themselves as above average in skill.

'In other words', the report said, 'accidents are caused by other people.'

Risk and Safety on the Roads: Perceptions and attitudes; AA Foundation for Road Safety Research; pounds 100.