Evolutionary Psychology, Demography and Vehicle Crashes: A Theoretical Synthesis David L. Wiesenthal & Deanna Singhal Source: Wiesenthal, D. L. & Singhal, D. M. (In press). Evolutionary psychology, demography and driver safety research: A theoretical synthesis. In S. Craig Roberts (Ed.), Applied evolutionary psychology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Some National Road Safety Initiatives Canada Finland Holland Great Britain Switzerland These nations have reported a decrease in collisions and an improvement in driver safety

Data plotted from “Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: Source: Transport Canada

Interpreting Driving Safety Statistics Governments attribute safety improvement to their initiatives and/or technical improvements in vehicle and highway design, road maintenance, driver training, graduated licencing, and enforcement strategies. These statistics need to be interpreted in relation to the demographic situation of the specific population in question. How can we explain drunk driving, risky driving, driver aggression and roadway violence?

Evolutionary Psychology Principles Males, more than females, vie for status, economic resources and engage in physical conflict when status and resources are involved. The greatest potential gain from risk occurs during the stage when mate competition begins. Environmental stability/instability and social learning plays a role, so it is not a case of simple biological determinism.

Evolutionary Psychology Principles Males, more than females, vie for status, economic resources and engage in physical conflict when status and resources are involved The greatest potential gain from risk occurs during the stage when mate competition begins. Environmental stability/instability and social learning plays a role, so it is not a case of simple biological determinism.

Evolutionary Psychology (continued) Evolutionary psychology would predict that violent behaviours, driver aggression, and alcohol consumption would be the greatest for young males. The proportion of young males in a population will influence the prevalence of violent crime, risk-taking and driving while intoxicated. As the proportion of young males in a population increase, the level of aggression and risk taking will increase. As the proportion of young males in a population decrease, the level of aggression and risk taking will decrease.

Males engage in a variety of risky behaviours: gambling drug use extreme sports crime alcohol consumption (from Wilson & Daly, 1985)

Mesquida’s Analysis of Coalitional Aggression Young males compete with each other and form intense hierarchies involved with mate selection Countries with a preponderance of young males may be at risk for coalitional aggression Economic conditions (scarcity) may intensify competition to secure resources necessary for obtaining wives The combination of scarcity and large numbers of young males increases the probability for coalitional aggression (e.g., gangs, civil wars,etc.)

Social learning plays a role Media representations of areas for male competition in a specific culture –Advertisements –Cinema Imitation and modelling

Do the ideas of evolutionary psychology influence driver safety research? Web of Science searches on some key journal articles reveal little impact. Wilson & Daly’s (1985) conceptual argument has been cited in 125 publications, but none dealt with any aspect of driver behavior.

See animation million 30 million MALES FEMALES

Animated Population Pyramid Statistics Canada

Murder rate % of the population aged Annual estimates of the murder rate and the % of population ages 15-29, U.S., , with projections of the latter to 2001

Population of Canada and Proportion of Males yrs.

Data source: North American Transportation Statistics//Note that a gap exists in x-axis

Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics, 2003 Males (16-34 yrs.) represent 30.1% of male drivers and 16% of all Canadian drivers Males (15-34 yrs.) represent 39.5% of traffic fatalities and 43.6% of injuries Source: Transport Canada

Conclusions Demographic variables need to be examined before safety claims are attributed to policy implementations, engineering advances or highway improvements. Evolutionary psychology offers a theoretical basis for driver safety research and needs to be introduced to sharpen scholarly work in the area.

The Vatican’s 10 Commandments for Drivers 1.Thou shalt not kill 2.The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm 3.Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events 4.Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents 5.Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin

The Vatican’s 10 Commandments for Drivers 6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so 7. Support the families of accident victims 8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness 9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party 10. Feel responsible for others