Better Driving: "Respect on the Road"
Chapter 4: Types of Behaviour
4.1 Rather than seeking to define further the meaning of 'respect' and 'disrespect', we consider that effort should be devoted to particular behaviours that should be encouraged or discouraged. We would concentrate particularly on those behaviours that could be a contributory factor in a collision with another vehicle or with a pedestrian or cyclist. So, for example, driving at an inappropriate speed for the conditions should be discouraged because it is potentially harmful to the driver or others. Dangerous parking, for example is in the same category. Overstaying one's time at a parking meter is against the rules and will be enforced by the local authority but it does not in itself contribute to accidents.
4.2 The table below sets out our ideas about the sorts of behaviour that should be encouraged or discouraged. All behaviours that break road traffic laws should ex hypothesi be discouraged as should behaviours that do not in themselves break the law but can be shown to be associated with increased risk of causing harm to self or others. We have not specified in the disrespectful/bad table all the many illegal actions such as drinking and driving, drug driving etc. We note that drivers tend to have less regard for laws and regulations for which there is not an obvious safety purpose or where they believe they are being treated unreasonably[10]. The most effective laws in this area are those that reasonable people see the sense of and obey voluntarily. We are no longer a deferential society, if we ever were.
4.3 Our ideas about the types of behaviour that should be encouraged or discouraged are as follows. The list is illustrative and should not be viewed as definitive.
| Bad: to be discouraged | Good: to be encouraged |
|---|---|
| Driving at an inappropriate speed | Giving way when you should |
| Not allowing enough room to other road users (e.g. driving too close to bicycles) | Anticipation and awareness of what other people might do |
| Middle lane hogging | Letting people know what you are going to do |
| Bad lane discipline | Letting people in to flow of traffic |
| Not wearing a seat belt | Saying sorry |
| Using a mobile phone while driving | Letting pedestrians cross |
| Driving under impairment of drink and/or drugs | Acknowledgment of good behaviour |
| Dangerous overtaking | Being in control always |
| Pulling out without signaling | Taking a pride in one's driving |
| Not giving way to pedestrians | Being calm and patient |
| Driving too close behind the car in front | |
| Driving aggressively: eg 'cutting up' other drivers, gesturing, shouting | |
| Not anticipating what might happen by 'reading the road' |
4.4 Attempts have been made to categorise types of disrespectful behaviour by reference to the person concerned rather than the outcome. The Cragg Ross Dawson research commissioned by the DfT suggested a classification into three types of disrespect on the road:
- Active disrespect for others and the law (comprising illegal and inconsiderate activities such as joyriding, driving without insurance, abandoning cars and double parking) that is perpetrated by an inconsiderate minority who demonstrate this type of behaviour both on and off the road;
- Reactive disrespect for others (such as impatience and impersonal aggression) committed by the normally considerate majority in direct response to the on-road environment.
- Passive disrespect which consists of 'lesser' but still illegal offences (driving whilst using a mobile, 'low level' speeding etc) committed by the majority who usually obey the law and authority in other situations, but disregard it where they cannot see that their actions, though illegal, would be likely to have adverse consequence.
4.5 The research also found that when people are in their cars, they have a higher threshold of acceptability (what people are prepared to do and have done to them), and are more prone to aggression and impatience, but at the same time made to feel more secure because of the anonymity of being in a car. This combination of factors makes people more likely to behave with less consideration than they otherwise would.
4.6 In addition, the research suggested that the majority of people see themselves as law abiding and courteous drivers, but are also happy to admit to various offences that might fall into the 'passive disrespect' category. This is because they do not see that such offences are unsafe. The researchers concluded that, generally, it is felt that flouting laws that do not have an obvious safety rationale is justifiable.
4.7 Such research is interesting, and relevant to the extent that it might help us to see what interventions might have some effect on reducing such behaviours.
10: Respect on the Road: Qualitative Research To Explore Public Attitudes Towards, And Participation In, Anti-Social Behaviour On The Roads - Cragg Ross Dawson 2006.