UPPLEVD TRYGGHET I FORDON OCH TRAFIKMILJÖ. Hur upplevd trygghet och risk formas och påverkar människors beteenden i fordon och trafikmiljö

Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis examines how perceived safety is shaped and experienced in relation to vehicles and traffic environments, and how road users act accordingly. The aim of the study is to create a deeper understanding of perceived safety in vehicles and traffic environments from an anthropological perspective. The study focuses on how drivers in everyday life experience and are shaped by social, environmental, and technological aspects of driving, as well as how they navigate between risk and safety in traffic situations. The study also aims to provide the collaborating traffic safety company with a deeper understanding of perceived safety that may contribute to the development of traffic safety practices. The study was conducted from an anthropological perspective through fieldwork consisting of observations and semi-structured interviews. The analysis is based on anthropological, sociological, science and technology studies and analytical concepts including, perceived safety, perceived risk, cultural values, relational theory of risk, reflexive system trust, symbols, symbolic valuation and embodiment. The results show that perceived safety in traffic environments is primarily grounded in feelings of control, familiarity, and trust in one’s own driving ability. Familiar safety systems become embodied and are perceived as self-evident, while more active technological systems generate both perceived safety and risk. The study also demonstrates that the physical attributes of a vehicle are assigned symbolic meanings. Trust in technological systems appears to be situational and is continuously reassessed based on experience and context. The conclusion of the study indicates that perceived safety and risk in vehicles and traffic environments are not solely shaped by technical safety systems, but should also be understood as being formed by social and cultural perceptions. Safety and risk should therefore be regarded as a social phenomenon rather than solely statistically measurable concepts, and studied accordingly. The study is written in Swedish.