A survey of over 1600 drivers is reported, the results of which are consistent with those reported in an earlier study (Reason et al. 1990), which identified a three-fold typology of aberrant driving behaviours. The first type, lapses, are absent-minded behaviours with consequences mainly for the perpetrator, posing no threat to other road users. The second type, errors, are typically misjudgements and failures of observation that may be hazardous to others. The third type, violations, involve deliberate contraventions of safe driving practice. In the present study the survey instrument used, the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, was also shown to be reliable over time. Each type of behaviour was found to have different demographic correlates. Most importantly, accident liability was predicted by self-reported tendency to commit violations, but not by tendency to make errors or to have lapses. The implications for road safety are discussed.

Britirh J o t m i d of S o l i d Psychfogy (1995), 34. 127-1 37 0 I995 The British Psychological Society Printed in G r u t BritainThis study assesses the sufficiency of Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behaviour in predicting intentions to commit cach of three driving violations involving poor lane discipline: cutting across traffic to leave a motorway; weaving in and out of two lanes of slow-moving traffic; and overtaking on the inside. Behaviourul intention was predicted reasonably well by thr three main constructs of the theory of plannrd behaviour.However, the addition of measures of anticipated regret and moral norm substantially improved prediction in each case, suggesting that personal normative influence is an important factor in shaping intentions to perform behaviours that are antisocial or socially controvrrsial. The development of a belief-based mrasure of perceived behavioural control is also considered.The theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) offers a model of attitude structure which has been used to predict intention and behaviour in areas as diverse as weight loss (Sejwacz, Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980), family planning (Davidson & Jaccard, 1075; Jaccard & Davidson, 1972) and voting (Ajzen, Timko C(r White, 1982). The TRA suggests that behavioural intention will in most cases be the best predictor of subsequent behaviour. Behavioural intention is seen as being determined by two factors, namely attitude to the behaviour and subjective norm, although the relative importance of these two factors will vary as a function of the individual and the behaviour under consideration.Attitude to behaviour and subjective norm are in turn regarded as being predictable from measures of the beliefs which underpin them, each belief being weighted by its significance to the individual. Thus, attitude to the behaviour is seen as arising from a set of salient beliefs about the consequences of carrying out the behaviour (behavioural beliefs), weighted by an evaluation of each of those consequences (outcome evaluations). A measure of attitude to the behaviour is obtained by summing the products. Similarly, *Requests for reprints

Background: Learning from mistakes is key to maintaining and improving the quality of care in the NHS. This study investigates the willingness of healthcare professionals to report the mistakes of others. Methods: The questionnaire used in this research included nine short scenarios describing either a violation of a protocol, compliance with a protocol, or improvisation (where no protocol exists). By developing different versions of the questionnaire, each scenario was presented with a good, poor, or bad outcome for the patient. The participants (n=315) were doctors, nurses, and midwives from three English NHS trusts who volunteered to take part in the study and represented 53% of those originally contacted. Participants were asked to indicate how likely they were to report the incident described in each scenario to a senior member of staff. Results: The findings of this study suggest that healthcare professionals, particularly doctors, are reluctant to report adverse events to a superior. The results show that healthcare professionals, as might be expected, are most likely to report an incident to a colleague when things go wrong (F(2,520) = 82.01, p<0.001). The reporting of incidents to a senior member of staff is also more likely, irrespective of outcome for the patient, when the incident involves the violation of a protocol (F(2,520) = 198.77, p<0.001. It appears that, although the reporting of an incident to a senior member of staff is generally not very likely, particularly among doctors, it is most likely when the incident represents the violation of a protocol with a bad outcome. Conclusions: An alternative means of organisational learning that relies on the identification of system (latent) failures before, rather than after, an adverse event is proposed.

This study assessed the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to account for drivers' intentions to commit four specific driving violations: drinking and driving, speeding, close following, and overtaking in risky circumstances. A stratified sample of drivers (N= 881) was surveyed with a questionnaire constructed to measure attitudes toward behaviors, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions, the key constructs in TPB. Results showed that the addition of perceived behavioral control led to significant increments in the amount of explained variance in intentions, thereby supporting the theory. The relation between subjective norms and behavioral intentions was consistently stronger than that between attitudes toward behaviors and behavioral intentions. Analyses of variance differentiated demographic subgroups of drivers in terms of behavioral beliefs, outcome evaluations, normative beliefs, motivation to comply, and control beliefs.

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