Books by Lucienne Kleisen
This thesis explores the relationship between thinking and driving styles and their contribution ... more This thesis explores the relationship between thinking and driving styles and their contribution to young driver road safety. In doing so, it aspires to strengthen the focus on road safety instead of road unsafety. Although the majority of literature on traffic safety concentrates on crashes, crash risk, and aberrant driving behaviour, this research concentrates on people and safe driving styles. In other words, this study is undertaken from a positive point of view, and it presents and uses the first positive definition of road safety.
Young drivers are overrepresented in traffic fatalities, and they have been at the centre of many crash focused studies. However, although the number of young driver deaths has been reduced in the past decade (Chen, Ivers, Martiniuk, Boufous, Senserrick, Woodward, Stevenson and Norton 2010a), young drivers still represent 25% of the road related deaths, but make up only 15% of the licensed drivers (Department of Infrastructure Transport Regional Development and Local Government 2009). It seems that past research, the majority of which is negatively focused on crashes and aberrant driving behaviour, has not yet led to a satisfactory improvement of young driver road safety. This study, therefore, focuses on young drivers’ safety from a positive perspective.
Mixed methodology is used to find an answer to the main research question Can knowledge of thinking and driving styles contribute to young driver road safety?, using self-report questionnaires and group interviews with young drivers. The thesis examines the relationship between young drivers’ thinking and driving styles, emphasising patient and careful driving. The traffic safety literature and the parallel literature on thinking styles is used to get a better understanding of the construct of driving style, and what driving style means to young drivers themselves. It argues that thinking and driving styles can both be regarded as intellectual styles and a model for the development of driving styles is proposed. The findings from this research have implications for driver training content as well as for driver training execution.
Papers by Lucienne Kleisen
... Finally, because he hates to be the centre of attention, I want to thank my fantastic husband... more ... Finally, because he hates to be the centre of attention, I want to thank my fantastic husbandNik van den Brink for all his support during these student years. ... Lynch, Oetting and Swaim 2002; Jonah, Thiessen and Au-Yeung 2001; Kontogiannis, Kossiavelou ...
Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2013
Many studies in the field of road safety are occupied with studying road unsafety since it genera... more Many studies in the field of road safety are occupied with studying road unsafety since it generally concentrates on traffic crashes, crash, risk, and aberrant driving behaviour, especially in relation to young drivers. However, this study shows there is scope for thinking about driving and driver training from a different vantage point, that is in terms of safe or normal driving. The findings are reported from four group interviews with young drivers (18-25 years of age); the young drivers discussed their ideas of safe driving and their reasons for using (or not using) safe driving styles. The data show a type of optimistic thinking among young drivers which they call 'car karma'. This finding offers an opportunity to reconceptualise driving in a way that is focused on normal, safe driving styles, a topic that has received less attention in the past. The paper argues that greater focus on safe driving styles could be more conducive to young drivers actually driving safely than focusing on, for instance, crashes, which on an individual level are relatively rare (Elander et al., 1993, p. 277). Based on empirical research, the first positively stated definition of road safety is proposed based on the notion of 'car karma'.
INTRODUCTION Drivers aged 16-24 are greatly over-represented in the statistics regarding crashes ... more INTRODUCTION Drivers aged 16-24 are greatly over-represented in the statistics regarding crashes and fatalities on the road [1] , also in Australia [2]. Only 16% of driver licences in Australia are held by young drivers, aged 17-25 years, while this group makes up almost one third of all road crashes; the youngest drivers, 17-20 year olds, have a crash rate almost three times that of older drivers, 40-49 year olds [3]. Young male drivers are more at risk than young female drivers and this risk has increased in the last decade [4] .
The relationship between driving styles and crash risk has been demonstrated in several studies (... more The relationship between driving styles and crash risk has been demonstrated in several studies (e.g. West et al. 1993; Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2004). The aim of this research was to determine the predictive ability of Sternberg's (1997) theory of Mental Self-Government (MSG) for young drivers' driving styles, with the goal of improving driver training. A questionnaire package consisting of the Thinking Style Inventory-Revised (TSI-R, Sternberg et al. 2003), the Multi-dimensional Driving Style Inventory (MDSI, Taubman - Ben-Ari et al. 2004) and some demographic questions was administered to a convenience sample of 314 young drivers (18-25 years; 157 female). This study found that thinking styles can make a unique contribution to the prediction of young drivers' driving styles, especially in relation to positive driving styles such as patient driving. Because thinking styles are partly socialised and can be modified (Grigorenko and Sternberg 1997; Zhang and Sternberg 200...
Many studies in the field of road safety are occupied with studying road unsafety since it genera... more Many studies in the field of road safety are occupied with studying road unsafety since it generally concentrates on traffic crashes, crash, risk, and aberrant driving behaviour, especially in relation to young drivers. However, this study shows there is scope for thinking about driving and driver training from a different vantage point, that is in terms of safe or normal driving. The findings are reported from four group interviews with young drivers (18–25 years of age); the young drivers discussed their ideas of safe driving and their reasons for using (or not using) safe driving styles. The data show a type of optimistic thinking among young drivers which they call ‘car karma’. This finding offers an opportunity to reconceptualise driving in a way that is focused on normal, safe driving styles, a topic that has received less attention in the past. The paper argues that greater focus on safe driving styles could be more conducive to young drivers actually driving safely than focusing on, for instance, crashes, which on an individual level are relatively rare (Elander et al., 1993, p. 277). Based on empirical research, the first positively stated definition of road safety is proposed based on the notion of ‘car karma’.
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Books by Lucienne Kleisen
Young drivers are overrepresented in traffic fatalities, and they have been at the centre of many crash focused studies. However, although the number of young driver deaths has been reduced in the past decade (Chen, Ivers, Martiniuk, Boufous, Senserrick, Woodward, Stevenson and Norton 2010a), young drivers still represent 25% of the road related deaths, but make up only 15% of the licensed drivers (Department of Infrastructure Transport Regional Development and Local Government 2009). It seems that past research, the majority of which is negatively focused on crashes and aberrant driving behaviour, has not yet led to a satisfactory improvement of young driver road safety. This study, therefore, focuses on young drivers’ safety from a positive perspective.
Mixed methodology is used to find an answer to the main research question Can knowledge of thinking and driving styles contribute to young driver road safety?, using self-report questionnaires and group interviews with young drivers. The thesis examines the relationship between young drivers’ thinking and driving styles, emphasising patient and careful driving. The traffic safety literature and the parallel literature on thinking styles is used to get a better understanding of the construct of driving style, and what driving style means to young drivers themselves. It argues that thinking and driving styles can both be regarded as intellectual styles and a model for the development of driving styles is proposed. The findings from this research have implications for driver training content as well as for driver training execution.
Papers by Lucienne Kleisen
Young drivers are overrepresented in traffic fatalities, and they have been at the centre of many crash focused studies. However, although the number of young driver deaths has been reduced in the past decade (Chen, Ivers, Martiniuk, Boufous, Senserrick, Woodward, Stevenson and Norton 2010a), young drivers still represent 25% of the road related deaths, but make up only 15% of the licensed drivers (Department of Infrastructure Transport Regional Development and Local Government 2009). It seems that past research, the majority of which is negatively focused on crashes and aberrant driving behaviour, has not yet led to a satisfactory improvement of young driver road safety. This study, therefore, focuses on young drivers’ safety from a positive perspective.
Mixed methodology is used to find an answer to the main research question Can knowledge of thinking and driving styles contribute to young driver road safety?, using self-report questionnaires and group interviews with young drivers. The thesis examines the relationship between young drivers’ thinking and driving styles, emphasising patient and careful driving. The traffic safety literature and the parallel literature on thinking styles is used to get a better understanding of the construct of driving style, and what driving style means to young drivers themselves. It argues that thinking and driving styles can both be regarded as intellectual styles and a model for the development of driving styles is proposed. The findings from this research have implications for driver training content as well as for driver training execution.