Introduction
The Research is about a road traffic accident. It seeks to understand how well people can report on an accident they have witnessed and how detailed one can express the accident scene. “This involves presenting data numerically, like duration the accident lasted, the exact time between the collision sound and the horn sound or even how fast the cars were traveling.” (Bird, 1927). Most people are not very good when presenting data numerically, like distance, time, and speed. Here one needs to be able to capture various details. The other driver’s status, change the insurance details of each driver and vehicle involved. Regardless of who is in the wrong, this is vital information.
Vehicle details and information need to be captured and note the witnesses to the accident. “If possible, a photo of the accident scene should be captured as well, detailing a chronological account of what exactly transpired. One needs to describe what both drivers were doing before the incident happened. What caused the accident, and what the scene was like after the accident.” (Gilmore, 2018). Most people overestimate the duration that an incident like an accident lasted. It is due to the obvious shock that accompanies the same occurrence. “Different eyewitnesses give different accounts of all scenarios depending on how best they feel they saw it.” (Block, 1974). Speed is relative depending on individual witnesses.
Methods
Sample
John, a 26-year-old Caucasian male driving along north airport road, is the selected participant in the study. John had three occupants, his two sisters, and a brother. The researcher picked the recruits because they were in a stable state after the accident, except the motorcycle/bike rider who had to be rushed to a nearby hospital. Therefore it was just John and his three siblings left to account for the accident. All three of his siblings were above the age of 18 years at the time.
This Research is experimental because it focuses on the causes of road accidents and the use of human factors and experimental psychology. The driver involved in the accident is selected as the study subject. A system is created depending on driving time and the distance covered. The vehicle occupants, too, are partial as they are of influence. After collecting John’s account, based on the incident, the influence of the occupants plays a major role as a contributor to the road accidents. The results show that fatigue and distraction are the most causes of accidents and the distance covered plays a role.
The variables are the date that the accident took place, the driver’s age, the driver’s occupation, the gender of the driver, other human factors like drug use and road familiarity, the driver’s education, and how the vehicles collide. A between-subject was used because the driver just used a single car on one site.
Measures
Speed mode was measured by speed sensor (km/h) and measured where idling is 0 kilometers and driving is more than 0 kilometers. Incomplete combustion, where an oxygen tester is used to determine the kind of oil used, whether lean or rich, was also used. The participant had to hire a car and go to a directed site at a specified time when the road is busy, on high traffic. The driver had to be sober with at least two occupants from his peers. The car had first to be serviced and in good condition to go a long distance as that was the directive. Determine distance versus fatigue.
Results
The findings indicated that road accidents are a culmination of many factors combined. Depending on the distance that a driver has to drive, they can get tired along the way. Fatigue compromises concentration on the road and road rules, leading to accidents. The findings also show that drivers can get distracted by people in the car if they are familiar with them, especially their peers. Lack of concentration is caused by the driver trying to multi-task, indulging with the occupants as he drives. Furthermore, vehicle conditions also determine whether a car gets involved in a road accident or not.
Discussion
The researcher feels that these findings took the direction they did because the regulations in the licensing authorities are not as strict. This way, if the licenses are regulated, there would be less underage driving and lesser driving under the influence of any substance, reducing road traffic accidents. The limitations of this study included the lack of a clear sight for the experiment rub-ins with traffic police since the experiment caused inconvenience to other road users. Another limitation is that some of the results could be predetermined as no one becomes a subject in Research knowing very well that they could get involved in an accident.
The researcher recommends that future studies be carried out anonymously, with participants unaware of the study’s objectives and who the client is. That way, the researcher gathers actual data.
References
Bird, C. (1927). Bird, C. (1927). The influence of the press upon the accuracy of the report. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 22(2), 123. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Bird,+C.+(1927).+The+influence+of+the+press+upon+the+accuracy+of+report.+Journal+of+Abnormal+and+Social+Psychology.&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5#:~:text=Social%20Psychology%2C%201927%20%2D-,psycnet.apa.org,-The%20particular%20circumstance
Gilmore, M. (2018). Estimating Traffic Crash Counts using crowd-sourced Data.https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/37256/dot_37256_DS1.pdf
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