Crash avoidance: new opportunities for behavior analysis.

The application of behavior analysis to reduce injuries and deaths resulting from motor vehide crashes is not a new idea. Behavior analysis has been used with much success to promote vehide safety belt use (e.g., Geller, 1988; Streff& Geller, 1986), and increasing vehide safety belt use has been shown to reduce dramatically the trauma inflicted on crash-involved vehide occupants (Streff, Wagenaar, & Schultz, 1990). Another approach to reducing the number of injuries caused by motor vehide crashes is to change behaviors relevant to the prevention of vehide crashes. Behavior analysis has been applied with some success to affect precursors to vehide crashes, most notably the prevention ofalcohol-impaired driving (e.g., see review by Geller & Lehman, 1989) and speeding (e.g., Van Houten et al., 1985; Van Houten & Van Houten, 1987). However, behavior analysis has been underused in the examination and modification ofnumerous other behaviors relevant to vehide crash avoidance. There is some evidence in the traffic safety literature (albeit dated and based on small data samples) that modification of behaviors antecedent to a crash may be effective in reducing crash frequency and severity (e.g., Joscelyn & Jones, 1980; Lohman, Leggett, Stewart, & Campbell, 1976). These studies found improper turning, following too dosely, running through a traffic control, driving left of center, and speeding behaviors to be particularly hazardous and thus deserving of special efforts to reduce their occurrence. Our research team