Characteristics of Drivers Involved in Single-Car Accidents: A Comparative Study

This report describes a methodology for retrospective, in-depth, psychological investigation of driver fatalities. The results suggest that fatally injured drivers of single-car accidents can be differentiated from fatally injured drivers of multiple-car accidents on the basis of life-style and personality characteristics. Similarly, an overlap group of multiple-car and single-car drivers with a history of excessive alcohol usage may be differentiated from all other fatally injured drivers on the same basis.The Katz Adjustment scales significantly differentiated the above groups from a normative population on five of 18 scales. Preventive methods suggested by these results include educational efforts directed toward sensitizing persons in contact with high-risk drivers for the purposes of intervention, and the development of automatic safety equipment.