Here, we analyze from a different viewpoint the degree to which a driver is prone to accidents. One cause of an accident may be that a driver is not fit for operating vehicles to begin with. A driver is thus assessed from the standpoint of "driving aptitude". The driving aptitude test measures one's fitness for driving in terms of responses to given tasks and a psychological test.
Drivers who had two accidents or more during the five years (2001-2005). despite having been subjected to administrative penalties for traffic accidents and required to take an offenders' driving course in 2001, were analyzed for their character traits. The drivers' aptitude test (NRIPS DATB 73) used here combines both the question/answer method and the task performance method.
Fig. 7 divides test subjects into three categories for each test item: low (e.g. slow to respond), high (e.g. quick to respond), and medium (e.g. between slow and quick), and shows the proportion of drivers who had accidents after taking the offender's training course.
Of those having accidents after completing the course, drivers who were marked low in work speed (slow to respond) accounted for 42.1%, and those who scored low in nervousness (not nervous) totaled 26.3%, statistically exhibiting that such traits are risk factors for repeating traffic accidents.
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