Analysis of Influential Factors for Drivers' Capability of Handling Special Situations

Traffic accident investigators usually pay more attention to drivers' skill and traffic rules in the analysis of various incidents, while they tend to ignore drivers' capability of handling traffic special situations. There is evidence that professional drivers' general skills are almost at the same level and the main difference between them lies in the capability of handling special situations. Traffic special situation is characterized by sudden, haphazard, variability and stressful, which is an important factor that threats driving safety. Therefore, traffic safety is critically dependent on proper disposal of special situations; and most of them occur unexpectedly and the consequences are vastly different. In order to accurately detect, judge and handle various special situations, drivers must not only grasp driving knowledge and skills, but also have good mental state and right strategies of decision-making to respond to different kinds of emergencies. For a skilled driver, good psychological quality is the premise for safe driving, because it directly affects the complex conversion process from skill to decision-making and action. In this study qualitative research approach was chosen to find probable psychological factors that may affect drivers' capability of handling special situations, especially in the view of drivers. Focus group discussion analyzed the characteristics of driving special situations and driving behavior under stress, then identified main psychological factors in potential risk. We hope this study can provide some useful suggestion to train and improve drivers' emergency response capability, which may ensure traffic safety.