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Rational approaches
Rational approaches have also been described as ‘ information ’ or ‘ enforcement ’ approaches as they provide a range of information that often relates to what an offence is , the penalties associated with that offence and / or how to improve a driving skill , rather than attempting to generate and exploit emotions . They may be used to explain a change in law , or an increase in penalties associated with an offence and are primarily used as an awareness raising , rather than behaviour change strategy . They often rely on the assumption that the audience is rational and will choose the behaviour that benefits them most and costs them least .
Where individuals have been shown to have an information or skill deficit , a rational approach may be useful . However , research has produced mixed findings regarding their ability to significantly reduce offending behaviour ¹ ². These approaches may increase knowledge and skill , but they do not appear to influence road user behaviour that well . In some circumstances , it may be more useful to combine their use with educational styles that explain to individuals the importance of safe road user behaviour so that they are able to recognise the relevance and importance of those safe driving skills – the why as well as the how . It is useful to offer this style of education where it has been identified that an information or skill deficit is evident ( misunderstanding of roads signs , perhaps , or where a new rule or road layout has been applied ). In the case of mobile phone use by drivers , the lack of understanding that the law applies when a driver is stationary in a traffic jam might be an example of a knowledge-deficit that could be addressed by a rational approach to education , as might the message that hands-free use has the potential to be as distracting as handheld use ( a message that still seems to surprise many drivers ).
¹ Ker , K ., Roberts , I ., Collier , T ., Beyer , F ., Bunn , F . and Frost , C ., ( 2005 ). Post-licence driver education for the prevention of road traffic crashes : a systematic review of randomised controlled trials . Accident Analysis & Prevention , 37 ( 2 ), pp . 305-313 .
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Stanton , N . A ., Walker , G . H ., Young , M . S ., Kazi , T . and Salmon , P . M ., ( 2007 ). Changing drivers ’ minds : the evaluation of an advanced driver coaching system . Ergonomics , 50 ( 8 ), pp . 1209-1234 .