The role of the psychology of driving in the reduction of traffic accidents: The French experience
Authors: Khlifi Tahar 
Published: November 2015

Traffic accidents have conventionally been considered as the outcome of a dialectical
interplay of three elements: the driver, the vehicle and the infrastructure. Everything that
relates to the road, its maintenance and the traffic signs are constituents of the infrastructure.
Therefore, all traffic accidents could be interpreted as a flaw in one or all of these elements. By
developing new methods, the team I supervise has contributed significantly to the policy of
traffic safety on French roads. As part our contribution, we have elaborated a fourth element
called “organization,” and now the new paradigm is: the driver, the vehicle, the infrastructure and
the organization). This model is today adopted by the majority of French experts.

The fact that the vehicles and the roads are in good condition does not benefit those
countries in which the element of «organization» is weak or dysfunctional. The adverse effect
comes from the fact that when the driver finds ideal conditions—an excellent road and car—he
mostly tends to drive very fast as he does not sense any danger. As a result, ideal road conditions
become more conducive for dangerous road accidents than the bad conditions. Our contribution
lies in activating the theory that explains this blatant human contradiction. This theory is called
the “risk balance theory.” It is as if the driver himself determines a given risk level in his life, so
that each time his perception of the risk decreases he changes his behavior and the risk level
increases, and vice versa. This theory is valid in most areas in which the human factor is involved.
Psychologists consider that the success of the policy of deterrence in achieving traffic safety is
attributed to the ticketing process, as offending drivers feel the threat which affects their license,
i.e. the level of fear of losing the license increases which, in return, makes the driver refrain from
violating the law. Therefore, the policies based on the point deduction system succeed more than
the financial sanctions.

The history of traffic safety in France has witnessed two important periods. The first
occurred after 1972 when the number of victims reached 18000 dead and 386000 injured. The
authorities then set up the Comité Interministériel de Sécurité Routière (Interministerial
Committee for Road Safety) under the supervision of the Prime Minister. All ministries were
represented on the committee and the binding resolutions were implemented by all the
ministers within their respective mandates. This organizational mechanism led, in addition to
several other factors, to a significant decline in the number of casualties (3000 lives were saved
in two years). This organizational mechanism continues up to now, and the Prime Minister
periodically oversees the meetings of the committee which outlines the national traffic safety
policy.

The number of casualties of road accidents continues to decline in France over the years but
to a limited extent (200 to 300 lives saved annually), as the number of victims reached between
2000 and 8000 dead and 150000 injured. Despite this positive development, the European
Commission intervened, considering these figures below expectations given the level of
development among the member states and the fact that the mortality rate is an indicator of the
progress of countries.

The European Commission set for each member state a goal to be attained within a period
of 10 years. For France, the fatality rate should be lower than 3000 before 2012. Therefore, we
consider the second crucial phase in the history of French traffic safety to be the one which took
place after 2002.

To meet the objectives of the European Commission, France tightened control, activated
the organizational mechanism and gave more importance to specialists in human behavior. For
example, more than 4500 radars were installed and more than 1500 facilitators, half of whom
were psychologists, were trained in awareness programs for traffic offenders. In addition,
more than 700 doctors were given supplementary training. The driver’s license point system,
particularly its information system part, was restructured, a driver’s license for beginners was
initiated and the serious offenders or those who lost all of their points were required to visit
psychologists and doctors specifically trained for this purpose.

All of these procedures have made France the closest among European countries to the goal
set by the European Commission. The number of fatalities fell from 8150 in 2000 to 3260 in 2012.
This achievement did not make France the best European country in traffic safety, but it made it
the most successful in improving its statistics. This success story is based on the harmonization
of the policies of deterrence and pedagogy and the crucial place given to psychological
intervention.

Inspired by my personal contribution, as well as that of all the staff under my supervision,
in achieving these satisfactory results, through studies, consultancies, training facilitators
and sessions about awareness for traffic offenders, I will seek to demonstrate statistically the
distinctive features of the successful French experience and the extent to which this policy is
appropriate and applicable to fast developing countries.