The data from the Research on the driving behavior of motorists in Italy “are unfortunately very far from the average recorded in other European countries where 90% of motorists wear the front seat belts and 71% of passengers wear the rear seat belts”.
This was highlighted by Anas, regarding the User Guide Styles Observatory Research, commissioned by Anas and conducted by Studio Righetti and Monte Engineers and Associated Architects with the contribution of the Research Unit in Traffic Psychology of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart is was presented today as part of the conference “Road safety: zero victims goal” organized on the occasion of the world day in memory of road victims.
Alarming data on accidents
And the data relating to road safety released today by Anas are alarming, according to which one in 3 motorists does not use a seat belt, half of children travel without a child seat and two out of 10 young people use mobile phones while driving. This was stated by Codacons, which attacked the lack of controls on Italian roads. “The transgressions to the Highway Code are encouraged by the absence of controls by the police – explains the president Carlo Rienzi – Motorists continue to use their mobile phones while driving or not to fasten their seat belts because they know they can get away with it. and not to be sanctioned for the violations committed. And there is no point in tightening the sanctions and introducing more restrictive measures in the Highway Code if you are then unable to enforce the provisions and sanction offenders ”. “We remember – concludes Rienzi – that road accidents have a social cost that has reached 35 billion euros per year in Italy, a cost that could be reduced by increasing checks along the roads and sanctioning violations of the Highway Code with greater severity. “.
Anas’s study
The study analyzed some of the psychological factors that influence the lack of perception of risk underlying the behavior at the origin of road accidents, distinguishing between deliberate violations of the highway code and driver errors (e.g. oversights, maneuvers or incorrect assessments ). The behavior in violation does not in fact depend on a problem in collecting or processing the information necessary to implement the correct behavior, but on a choice influenced by psychological, psychosocial and motivational factors. In particular, the analysis recalled these factors by associating them with the data of the violations found. “Anas – writes the body in a note – in view of the challenging goal of reducing the victims of road accidents by 50% by 2030 is strongly committed to implementing the safety of its users by acting on several fronts simultaneously with a strategic plan” . First of all, the increase in resources to be allocated to scheduled maintenance: 15.9 billion (+ 44% compared to previous years), for the adaptation and safety of the network also through increasingly high-performance flooring. «Then, the strengthening of the Research and Development sectors with the Smart road project, the green lights project for more efficient lighting and the construction of latest generation safety barriers. Finally, the promotion and dissemination of a culture of road safety, starting from the fact that over 93% of accidents derive from the behavior of the driver ».
Traffic psychology
“Anas’s interest in this issue has allowed us to carry out research which, by integrating quantitative and qualitative methodologies, has examined both the level of driver behavior and the underlying one, of the psychological processes in the light of which it is possible to explain such behaviors. The research results interestingly mirror the literature on road risk perception and risky driving behaviors. Both the recorded violations and the behaviors that lead to distraction, a frequent cause of accidents, appear to be attributable to the same cognitive biases: the role of habit and perceived advantages thus allow us to explain the risky behaviors that emerged from observations on the road. The knowledge of the connection between these factors underlying the mental functioning of drivers and the risk behaviors will be of help to Anas in the planning of both infrastructural and training interventions ». This was underlined by Federica Biassoni, professor at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan, Research Unit of Traffic Psychology, who carried out the analysis for Anas of the factors underlying driving behavior, at the conference “ Road safety: zero goal victims ” organized on the occasion of the world day in memory of road victims. ‘”The analysis of risk perception was also accompanied by 17 semi-structured interviews with users of the three different types of roads and motorways covered by the survey. The aim was to investigate the reasons perceived as underlying their own risky behaviors and those engaged in by other road users. The former are mainly attributable to stress, habit, lack of civic sense, while the latter are attributable to lack of use of direction indicators, overtaking maneuvers on the right, dangerous overtaking, risky speed », continues Biassoni. «On the other hand, in relation to the perception of road safety, the statements of the interviewees vary according to the type of road. 82% of the sample considers the roads to be safe or does not show a significant perception of the danger with respect to all the types of roads analyzed “, concludes Biassoni.
But what are the most frequent mistakes and which, unfortunately, can often cost people their lives?
Child seats and the use of arrows
According to the commissioned study, 49.47% of motorists do not use child seats. The study also showed that, as regards the indicator lights – the arrows – 55.63% do not turn them on for overtaking or returning (76.46%), or for entry (59.20%). or exit (43.71%) from the ramp.
Drive with your cell phone to your ear
Two out of ten young people drive by using their cell phones improperly. This is always established by the study commissioned by Anas. After all, it is not uncommon to come across those who, while driving, or use their mobile phones to make calls or to send messages.
The use of the belt
Another aspect that distances Italians from the European average is the use of seat belts. According to the study, which analyzed driving behavior along three different types of roads and motorways managed in Anas (A90 Grande Raccordo Anulare of Rome, the Malpensa SS 336 as the main extra-urban road, and as an extra-urban road the SS 700 of the Royal Palace of Caserta) of a sample of 6000 users, it emerges that 28.38% of drivers do not fasten their seat belts, given that they get up when referring to the front passenger (31.87%) and rear passenger (80 , 12%). In short, one in three does not use them. And we know how much the use of the belt can protect against serious or fatal consequences.