The Impact of Sanctions on the Views held by and Behaviour of Motor Vehicle Drivers in Slovenia

Abstract

The statistical data available on the events that have occurred on Slovenian roadways to date reveal that road transport has become a crucial part of our everyday lives. Moreover, since it shapes our way of life, values and actions, it has become an integral part of modern society. The state can assist improving the behaviour of drivers and this can, in turn, help increase traffic safety in many ways. During the period 1998-2013, Slovenia introduced stricter legislation in the field of road transport, which confirms the recent increase in punitivism and punitive populism. Therefore, questions are being raised regarding the effectiveness of higher fines and punishments for drivers when it comes to improving road traffic safety. The answers to these questions represent an important contribution to the understanding of punishment for the purpose of improving road user's behaviour.

In the first part of this article, definitions are provided for some of the psychological aspects of human action (behaviour) in road transport, the impact of views regarding the response and behaviour of road users, and punishment for road traffic violations as an important aspect of the implementation of traffic law. In doing so, the importance of studying the human element, a crucial factor in traffic safety owing to the plethora of psychophysical processes and personalities involved, is presented. Attention is drawn to the lack of any scientific studies or research conducted on the influence of punishment on improving the views held by and behaviour of road users. There is a clear need for extensive research to be conducted on Slovenian motor vehicle drivers in order to fill the gaps identified in studies completed thus far. In the second part, results of research conducted are presented, on the basis of which the key thesis that punishment has an influence on the views held by Slovenian motor vehicle drivers and, as a result, improves their behaviour on the roads cannot be accepted or confirmed due to weak correlations between the variables.