TRAFFIC SAFETY WORKING PAPER SERIES LINGUISTIC AND COGNITIVE BARRIERS TO ROAD SAFETY: EVIDENCE OF COGNITIVE SYSTEM SHOCK AMONG INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS IN THE U.S.

Abstract

Despite decades of regulatory enforcement and standardized driver education, road traffic fatalities in the United States remain persistently high and have increased in recent years. While existing research has focused primarily on behavioral risk factors such as impairment, distraction, and speeding, comparatively less attention has been given to the cognitive and linguistic challenges faced by internationally trained drivers transitioning into the U.S. traffic system. This study examines how language structure, traffic system orientation, and cognitive load interact to influence driver comprehension and compliance. The paper introduces the Double Burden Hypothesis, distinguishing between drivers who face directional adaptation alone and those who face simultaneous directional and linguistic translation demands. Drawing upon national and state-level traffic safety data, comparative traffic system analysis, and cognitive science literature, the study identifies cognitive system shock—the reversion to deeply ingrained motor habits under stress—as a contributing factor to misunderstanding and non-compliance. The findings suggest that text-dominant, monolingual traffic education models are structurally insufficient to address these challenges amid rising intersection-related and pedestrian fatalities. This research establishes a foundation for reframing traffic education as a cognitively adaptive systems-design problem rather than solely a behavioral enforcement issue.