Comparing one's driving with others': Assessment of abilities and frequency of offences. Evidence for a superior conformity of self-bias?

Research into self-evaluation of driving abilities has shown that drivers in North America and Europe consider that their driving abilities to be superior to those of the average driver. This survey (N = 454), carried out using a questionnaire, has confirmed this phenomenon in France where about 60% of the subjects rated themselves superior to other drivers in general. If this result is interpreted as a bias towards superior conformity of self, the study appears to show a bias with regard to conformity to driving regulations (assessed in terms of the frequency of driving offences committed). This interpretation would thus confirm the hypothesis that all subjects, whether they consider themselves superior or not to other drivers in general, believe they commit fewer offences than other drivers in general. The consequences of such a bias for the effectiveness of road safety campaigns and for drivers' risk-taking are discussed.