Unit 11: Forensic Traffic collision
P1: Explain the factors causing traffic collisions and injury
Human factors:
There are many factors which can lead to traffic collisions and or injuries to drivers.
One of these factors is human error, often drivers react to other reckless or inexperienced drivers
through road rage. Inexperienced driving includes: lack of training, injudicious action and road
rage.
Behavioural issues and inexperienced driving:
If drivers have behavioural issues when driving, there becomes an increased risk of collision
intent. Often drivers stress each other out as one driver may be acting recklessly. Often as a
result, drivers begin to get frustrated which can easily distract their attention to the road. If an
inexperienced driver makes an error, the other driver or drivers will get both frustrated and
cautious about driving near the reckless driver. As a result, they lose their temper and
themselves, may begin to make errors in their driving, as they are focused on the reckless driver,
rather than their own driving.
Frequently, arguments occur between two drivers, often this is carried out by harsh gestures
through the windows or rear mirrors, this lack of attention, adds an additional risk to possible
collisions. Risks of road rage can include, when a driver removes their hand from the steering
wheel, they no longer have control of the car's direction; they may express their anger by
directing their attention to the reckless driver, this averts the drivers attention from the road,
frequently this occurs when a reckless driver approaches alongside another driver at a red light,
the drivers are too occupied that they aren’t paying attention to when the traffic light turns green.
Often external factors can contribute to a driver not following standard driving procedures. Some
factors which contribute to this include: if the driver has had a bad day at work making them
irritable, even before they begin the journey and possible thoughts that are distracting them. This
results in a slip in standard procedures which can lead to collisions. Even minor errors can cause
collisions as a driver may be stressed or in shock resulting in them accidentally making errors
after the first error has been made.
Additionally, new drivers are prone to drive with their friends, as they are enjoying the new
responsibilities that come with passing your test. Young drivers are prone to make errors when
driving, often they might speed to make them appear cool, this can lead to a collision as they may
not have time to brake at a traffic light or at a zebra crossing and as a result
collide into a pedestrian or other vehicles.
Impairment:
Impairment is another factor which can lead to collisions, it includes: visual disability, fatigue,
distractions from mobile phones and music. Impairment drastically can cause collisions as drivers
may be unaware of blindspots, distance between them and another vehicle, change in lanes
, along a motorway and possible hazard signs. Additionally, if a driver is meant to drive with
glasses, and forgets to wear them, they may cause a collision as their vision is blurred. With
visual impairment, the driver may have delayed responses to sudden halts whilst driving, for
example, the traffic lights turning red as soon as the driver approaches, a pedestrian begins to
cross the road when it is red for vehicles, and as a result the driver may collide into the
pedestrian.
Mobile phones and navigation systems are a massive distraction to drivers as they become
unaware of their surroundings. If a person is texting whilst driving, they most likely will be paying
attention to their phone. Often drivers who are texting whilst driving have their mobile phone in
between their legs, as a result, they frequently are looking down, this results in their attention
being diverted and they are unaware of standard practices and hazards on the road.
Additionally, if a driver is listening to music, they may become distracted to their surroundings
and even practise inside the vehicle. If the vehicle is a manual car, the changes in gears are very
important. For example, if the driver is listening to loud music whilst going up a hill, there is a
traffic light at the top of the incline, the driver hasn’t identified that they need to put down the
handbrake until they proceed through the traffic light and then change to first gear, this can result
in them rolling down the hill, possibly into another vehicle behind them. Additionally, if the drivers
music is playing loudly, they may be unaware of noises that the car makes ,which show the car
needs fixing, such as clicking sounds when the car drives over bumps, this can be fixed by
replacing the stabiliser links, but if the drivers music is playing too loud, this vehicle factor will not
be identified and fixed, this can then lead to a collision as the driver might then lose control of the
car.
Alcohol can affect a person's vision, it can cause blurring and the inability to control your eye
movement. Impaired vision affects a person's judgement on distances between vehicles within
your peripheral vision, additionally, objects in the road or animals may be harder to see and as a
result this can lead to colliding with trees, other vehicles, animals and walls.
Attitudes to alcohol:
Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can lead to collisions for many reasons. It is
considered as a form of impairment as the individual will have slower cognitive skills. It takes
roughly 30 minutes for alcohol to absorb in the bloodstream, as a result, some drivers may not
even show signs of driving under the influence as the substance hasn’t yet been absorbed into
their blood. Alcohol dramatically impacts a person's ability to drive safely; safe driving requires
concentration, fast reaction times and good judgement and knowledge of standard driving
practices.
One way in which alcohol can impact driving is the person's response time, alcohol reduces a
person's speed at which they react to a situation, this therefore, increases the risk of an accident.
For example, if the driver in front suddenly brakes as a pedestrian has approached a zebra
crossing unexpectedly, it will take much longer for the driver under the influence to process this
sudden halt, as a result they might not brake in time. Not only would they collide with the driver in
front, the driver in front might also collide with the pedestrian.
