Some people have a personality and lifestyle that makes much more prone to accidents than most. Common to this group is that they:

• Are impulsive and take risks without thinking about the consequences.
• Explain away everything, which means that they never learn from their mistakes.
• Are prestige-minded and become offended when someone else overtakes them, honks at them or the like.
• Get very angry and react in dangerous ways when others make mistakes (this is called self-assertion)
• Are reserved and keep a low profile in everyday life but behave the opposite behind the steering wheel (this is called reaction formation)
• Do not perceive obviously dangerous situations as risky, or simply ignore risks – especially when they are stressed (this is called repression).

These negative behaviours and personality traits can, of course, also occur among drivers who are not accident-prone.

Read more about accident-prone drivers