Risk and Habit Development

1
North Dakota Driver Risk Prevention Curriculum
Guide
Developed by North Dakota Driver and Traffic
Safety Education Association Funded by The
North Dakota Department of Transportation

• Risk and Habit Development

2
Is Driving a High Risk Activity

• YES!
• Crash Every 2.8 Seconds
• Property Damage Every 7 Seconds
• Injury Every 11 Seconds
• Fatality Every 13 Minutes

Source NHTSA 2006
3
American Driving Culture
205 Million Licensed Drivers

• Deaths 37,261
• Injuries 2,346,000
• Property Damage
  4,146,000
• LER Crashes
  5,811,000
• Unreported Crashes
• Close Calls
• Stressful Situations
• High Risk Driver Behaviors
• Not Everything That Counts Can Be Counted -
  Albert Einstein

NHTSA 2008
4
15 to 20 Year Olds
12.4 Million Licensed Drivers

• Deaths 3,620
• Involvement 7,898
• Injuries
  303,000
• Police
  Reported Crashes 1,986,000
• 
  Unreported Crashes
• 
  Close Calls
• 
  Stressful Situations
• High Risk
  Driver Behaviors
• 
  
• 
  (NHTSA 2004)

5
Risk and Teen Drivers

• 1 in 6 are involved in a law enforcement reported
  crash every year
• 1 in 40 are injured in a collision every year
• 22 teenagers are involved in fatal crashes every
  day
• 10 teenagers parish in crashes every day
• 17 of 16-20 year olds involved in fatal crashes
  in 2004 had BAC of .08 or higher
• Drivers 16-24 year olds represented 24 of all
  fatalities 2004
• Motor vehicle crashes are the LEADING cause of
  death for teenagers ages 15-20!
• 1.03 Video JS Passengers

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Risk and Teen Drivers

• Motor vehicle crashes are the LEADING cause of
  death for teenagers ages 15-20.

7
Public Perceptions of Risk
77 have no idea of the level of risk when driving
Remember Unless a driver perceives driving as a
high risk activity, it is difficult to motivate
positive habit development or change in behavior.
8
Public Perception of Control
83 Think They Have Control
When drivers feel they have a lot of control in
preventing collisions, it follows that they
neither see themselves at risk nor see a need to
follow safety precautions. 83 of the drivers
above see themselves at minimal risk in a
collision.
9
Public Perceptions of the Likely Cause of a Crash
91 said it would not be their fault
Drivers who perceive driving to be a high risk
activity are more likely to believe that fault
could lie within themselves or another driver
rather than on an external condition or bad luck.
10
Think it Cant Happen to You?

• Risk Factors
• Choose 3 numbers between 1 62
• Choose 3 more numbers between 63 150
• Choose 3 more numbers between 151 223

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What are the chances

• of a crash occurring under those circumstances?
• a crash could be prevented?
• any two students chose exactly the same 9 risk
  factors?

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Characteristics of Risk

• Risk is always present
• Most crashes involve at least 9 risk factors the
  result of an over-accumulation of known and
  unknown risk factors
• Perceived risk differs from actual risk
• Perceived risk results in risk reduction actions
  being taken
• Unperceived risk results in no action being taken
• Actual risk may or may not result in an action
  being taken Choice
• Risk is shared
• Risk can be altered, eliminated and managed
• Choice

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Trillions of Ways a Crash Can Occur

• To significantly reduce the chances of crashing
• Choose to eliminate those risk factors
  contributed by our performance, and acquire a
  system of preventative habits.
• 10 Model Driving Habits serve as an insurance
  policy of low-risk behavioral patterns that will
  provide protection against an over accumulation
  of risk factors.

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10 Model Driving Habits

1. Driver Vehicle Readiness
2. See Clear Path Before Moving
3. Keep the Car in Balance
4. Use Reference Points
5. Do LOS-POT Searching
6. Turn Decisions into Actions
7. Control the Intersection
8. Get Rear Zone Control
9. Control with a Front Vehicle
10. Be Courteous to Others

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Four Levels of Driver Performance

• Automatic Okay Behavior
• With no conscious thought process, one takes the
  correct action by habit.
• Intentional Okay Behavior
• When one thinks about it, one knows he/she has
  taken or is taking the correct action.
• Intentional Not Okay Behavior
• When one thinks about it, one knows he/she has
  taken or is taking the wrong action.
• Automatic Not Okay Behavior
• With no conscious thought process, one takes the
  wrong action by habit.

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Process of Habit Development

• For Positive Habit Development to Occur
• Need to know what to do have the desire to do
  it
• Demonstrate that you are capable of doing it
• Overcome internal resistance and tame the monster
  of bad habit
• Be able to know when it is correctly or
  incorrectly performed
• Practice doing it correctly
• Do it correctly without thought