Have you ever wondered where traffic psychology assessment even exists, and how it is done elsewhere? In our blog series Welcome to the World of Traffic Psychology, we want to look at other countries to understand their way of conducting traffic psychological assessments. Today, a guest author tells us about her work in Slovakia.
Who has to undergo a traffic psychological assessment?
According to the law applicants for a driving license of groups C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE must undergo a traffic psychological assessment. Drivers who are holding these licenses are required to undergo a periodic traffic psychological assessment every five years until they reach the age of 65, and every two years after that. These rules apply to private drivers as well as for drivers of motor vehicles with the right of way, motor vehicles used for transport of dangerous goods, and motor vehicles used for delivery, taxi or postal services.
In case of a driver’s license revocation due to traffic offences, the traffic office decides on the return of the driver’s license and the examinations to be performed, such as a psychological, medical, or psychiatric assessment. The latter is mainly used in cases of drunk driving.
Before the assessment
Before the traffic psychological assessment, the driver must present their identity card, driver’s license or any other document related to the reason for the traffic-psychological examination, e. g. an order on examination of mental capacity or a recommendation from a general practitioner or a specialist. To ensure fair and meaningful results, the driver must state to be in good mental and physical condition, to not have consumed alcohol, narcotics or other addictive substances immediately prior to the examination, and to have had no other traffic psychological assessment within the last 3 months that found them unfit to drive. Only if these conditions are met and confirmed via signature by the driver, the assessment can proceed.
Dimensions measured and methods used
Generally, the traffic psychological assessment focuses on three areas: performance characteristics, personality dispositions, and medical history.
Performance characteristics are defined as general intellectual abilities, stress tolerance, psychomotor pace, sensorimotor reactivity and coordination, and memory. For drivers of vehicles with the right of way or vehicles for transporting dangerous goods, visual perception and fast detection of visual stimuli must also be assessed. Each of these dimensions is assessed via a specialized psychological test which was standardized for the population of drivers within the last 15 years.
Personality dispositions are partly assessed with psychological questionnaires but also approached via a psychological interview. No hard criteria for passing or failing this part are defined by the law. However, some dispositions are usually considered to be contraindications, e. g., inappropriate self-evaluation, emotional lability, predominantly maladaptive coping strategies in life situations, a lack of rational behavioral regulation or low tolerance of negative affects.
In terms of execution of these psychological tests, the law does not favor either paper and pencil or digital test presentation, leaving the choice with the examining psychologist. An exception is made for the dimension stress tolerance, which must be assessed digitally. Hence, many Slovakian psychologists opt for comprehensive digital testing with the Vienna Test System, which provides both tests for performance characteristics and personality dispositions.
At the end of the traffic psychological assessment, the assessing psychologist interprets all results from both performance and personality assessment, as well as the evaluation of the driver’s medical history to conclude whether the driver is fit to drive a motor vehicle or not.