Risk-Taking Behavior and Traffic Safety: Symposium Proceedings: October 19–22, 1997 Chatham, Massachusetts

NHTSA · 1997 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This document presents the proceedings of a 1997 symposium on risk-taking behavior and traffic safety, cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation and General Motors. The symposium was motivated by the consensus that addressing driver risk-taking is the most cost-effective method for further improving traffic safety. The proceedings compile research and discussions from over 80 policymakers and researchers, organized into sessions addressing the nature of the problem, specific risky behaviors, successful interventions, and innovative strategies. The text focuses heavily on impaired driving, analyzing divergent trends between youth and "hard-core" offenders. Data from the 1980s and 1990s show that while alcohol-related fatalities decreased significantly among drivers aged 16–20 (by 47% in the U.S. and 42% in Canada), reductions were minimal among older drivers with high blood alcohol concentrations (BACs). For instance, fatalities for drivers aged 25–44 with BACs exceeding 0.15% dropped by only 16% in the U.S. and 7.8% in Canada. Roadside surveys confirm this disparity: drivers under 21 saw an 89% decrease in high-BAC driving, whereas drivers aged 21–34 actually increased their prevalence of impaired driving. The paper attributes these differences to distinct psychological and developmental factors. For youth, risky driving is linked to "sensation seeking," impulsivity, and a broader "problem behavior syndrome" involving delinquency and substance use. Research indicates that these psychosocial traits emerge years before licensing, allowing for early identification of high-risk individuals. Conversely, "hard-core" drivers—defined as repeat offenders with high BACs resistant to deterrence—are characterized by alcohol dependence, aggression, and antisocial tendencies. Typology studies reveal this group is heterogeneous, comprising subgroups ranging from well-adjusted social drinkers to those with severe alcohol abuse and depression. The significance of these findings lies in the need for targeted countermeasures. The authors argue that treating all impaired drivers as a homogeneous group is ineffective. Instead, interventions must be tailored: youth programs should address underlying psychosocial norms and sensation-seeking traits, while hard-core offenders require strategies addressing alcohol dependence and criminal behavior. The symposium concludes that understanding the developmental trajectories and specific characteristics of these distinct groups is essential for designing effective policies to reduce the remaining burden of alcohol-related traffic casualties.

Key finding

The document is a symposium proceedings compilation and does not present a single unified empirical study with a specific quantitative result.

Methodology

review

Provenance

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Topics

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• risk taking
• sex gender
• novice drivers
• behavioral adaptation risk compensation
• passenger effects
• sensation seeking

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes
• Theoretical Contribution: theory or model