PREDICTION OF POLICE OFFICERS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT INVOLVEMENT USING BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS

The current study used scores on the Driver Performance Measurement (D PM) test and data gathered over four years on accident type and freque ncy from 47 police officers to provide evidence that cognitive-behavio ral observations of driving patterns can lead to predictions of subseq uent accident involvement. Results indicate that after controlling for age and experience, scores on the DPM test predicted involvement in p reventable accidents but not unpreventable accidents. Implications for future research involving the observation of cognitive-behavioral seq uences are discussed.