Introduction. Driving a car requires anticipating how situations will unfold, making decisions under uncertainty, and respecting regulations. In Morocco, the road system includes a points-based license, visible police presence, and signage that largely follows international standards. Despite this formal framework, violations are widespread and often socially tolerated. This contrast highlights a paradox: drivers operate within a system designed around legal norms, yet their daily anticipations must also account for behaviors that routinely disregard them. This raises a central question: how do drivers' expectations of what is likely to happen align with their knowledge of what the law requires?
Purpose. This study examines the gap between Moroccan drivers' expectations of imminent traffic events and their knowledge of legal norms. It tests the hypothesis that drivers' anticipatory judgments diverge from their internalized knowledge of traffic laws.
Methods. The experiment will present licensed Moroccan drivers with dashcam clips paused before critical events. For each clip, participants will answer two questions: (1) what they expect to happen next, and (2) what the law requires. These tasks are embedded in a structured survey that also records sociodemographics, driving history, and exposure. Regression models will then test how experience predicts alignment or divergence between anticipations and legal knowledge.
Predicted Results. We predict systematic discrepancies between hazard anticipation and law knowledge, with driving experience playing a major role. We also expect to identify scenarios where normative violations are anticipated yet socially normalized.
Conclusion. By contrasting expectations with legal rules, this study shows how drivers adapt to a context where formal enforcement exists but violations remain routine. The results will inform road safety strategies aimed at narrowing the gap between what drivers expect and what the law requires, contributing to safer and more context-sensitive interventions.