Determinants of Road Safety in Europe: A Literature Review on Behavioral and Cultural Influences on Traffic Accidents

Road accidents remain a major issue, causing millions of deaths every year. The roots of the problem spread broadly, resulting in numerous ramifications. This study aims to examine the causes under 3 main factors: driving behaviors, driving skills and cultural impacts. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, the study integrates different behavioral, psychological and cultural frameworks to understand the interconnected nature of the problem and their impact on the road safety outcomes. A combination of literature reviews and traffic safety reports served as the main source of information. The findings revealed that risky driving behaviors, especially observed in overconfident drivers, should be addressed. Hazard perception is a very crucial driving skill that might have an important role in accident avoidance and cultural factors, such as individualism, power index and long-term orientation, have a significant influence on driving behaviors, which, in turn, road safety issues.