Social perception of drivers in the process of driving as a factor of road safety

The article is devoted to the problems of road safety associated with the factors determining compliance/noncompliance with traffic rules by drivers. The focus of the work is on the study of the social-perceptual side of driver communication within the framework of the communicative component of multi-component combined driving activity, as well as the reflection of the results of social perception on the assessment and forecasting of road traffic situations by drivers. The study designed and applied a method for studying the perception and reflection of the driver’s personality (in particular, his social status) when making decisions in a set of typical road traffic situations (including those regulated by traffic rules). The work shows how exactly the social status of the driver is assessed by other road users based on certain characteristics of the vehicle he drives (car class, its cost). The work shows that drivers as road users, relying on traffic rules, take into account the social status of drivers who find themselves in the same road traffic situation with them and make decisions taking into account this information. Due to the peculiarities of social perception and mentality of Russian drivers, premium class vehicles receive priority. Drivers of this group more often than others take resources (time, space) from other road users and less often provide them to others. It is concluded that the acceptance by the majority of road users of traffic rules as a law equally applicable to all road users in the presence of groups of drivers who consider themselves exceptions creates the basis for conflict situations on the road, increases the likelihood of road accidents and reduces the level of traffic safety in general. The work outlines the prospects for further research in this area, and also identifies possible directions for solving the identified problem. Keywords road safety, driving, traffic rules, social perception, vehicle, social status of the driver, traffic situation, resources