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Forgetting near-accidents: the roles of severity, culpability and experience in the poor recall of dangerous driving situations

2000; Wiley; Volume: 14; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/(sici)1099-0720(200001)14

1099-0720

Peter Chapman, Geoffrey Underwood,

Safety Warnings and Signage

Applied Cognitive PsychologyVolume 14, Issue 1 p. 31-44 Research Article Forgetting near-accidents: the roles of severity, culpability and experience in the poor recall of dangerous driving situations Peter Chapman, Corresponding Author Peter Chapman [email protected] University of Nottingham, UKSchool of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.Search for more papers by this authorGeoffrey Underwood, Geoffrey Underwood University of Nottingham, UKSearch for more papers by this author Peter Chapman, Corresponding Author Peter Chapman [email protected] University of Nottingham, UKSchool of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.Search for more papers by this authorGeoffrey Underwood, Geoffrey Underwood University of Nottingham, UKSearch for more papers by this author First published: 10 January 2000 https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0720(200001)14:1 3.0.CO;2-9Citations: 60AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract It is often assumed that real-life events such as minor road accidents and near accidents will be well remembered. However, surveys of self-reported accidents suggest that respondents apparently forget approximately one third of their road accidents each year. This paper explores this possibility by looking at memory for the near-accidents in which drivers are involved. In a pilot study drivers carried microcassette recorders in their cars and reported near-accidents after each journey. These data confirmed that the frequency of near-accidents is greatly underestimated when subjects are simply asked to recall them. The main study then compared reports and recalls of over 7000 car journeys from 80 subjects over the course of a year. These included more than 400 reports or recalls of near-accidents. The influences of the driver's experience, the severity of the near-accident, and the driver's self-perceived degree of blame were additionally explored. It is concluded that near-accidents are generally forgotten extremely rapidly, with an estimated 80% of incidents being no longer reported after a delay of up to two weeks. Serious near-accidents and those where the driver admitted being to blame in the incident were least likely to be forgotten. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. REFERENCES Baddeley, A. D. (1994). The remembered self and the enacted self. In U. Neisser and R. Fivush (Eds.), The remembering self: Construction and accuracy in the self-narrative (pp. 236–242). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Blanchard, E. B. and Hickling, E. J. (1997). After the crash: Assessment and treatment of motor vehicle accident survivors. Washington DC: American Psychological Association. Blockey, P. N. and Hartley, L. R. (1995). Aberrant driving behaviour: errors and violations. 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