The traffic conflict technique: A subjective vs. objective approach

Filmed traffic conflicts were evaluated in terms of their severity using an objective measure and two subjective measures obtained from two groups of subjects. Each observer rated the same conflicts three times. Correlations among the subjective measures and between the subjective measures and the objective measure were used to evaluate some aspects of the reliability and validity of the subjective traffic conflict technique. The results yielded high intrarater and interrater reliabilities (.82≤r≤.99) and moderate concurrent validity relative to the objective measures (.43≤r≤.66). Implications for future use of subjective measures of traffic conflicts are discussed.