Social Interaction Patterns in Driver Behavior: An Introductory Review

Abstract

Despite all apparent anonymity of people who use the streets and roads as vehicle operators or as pedestrians, participation in traffic does not take place in a social vacuum. The individual performs his driving task in the context of the collective of road users, and this context is characterized by the central tendencies of social habits and values, expectations and communications, as well as their patterns of deviation. This paper attempts to bring together the existing points of view, hypotheses, and empirical evidence obtained with respect to the role played by social interaction factors in the behavior of road users.