The assumed reaction time of drivers, who react in a certain traffic situation, has an elementary importance on the jurisdiction and accident reconstruction. As reaction time can be understood as a period between the moment of the first visibility of a relevant stimulus and the initiation of an appropriate action, different cognitive factors, also known as information processing systems, play a role for the driver. The current contribution discusses, how strong those information processing systems can be influenced through specific situations during road traffic, and thus also through decision making processes. Based on a review study on existing incidence data it will be critically discussed if and how it is reasonable specifying general reaction times in road traffic law. Simultaneously, an empirical method is presented which shall provide assumptions regarding the expected case-specific behaviour of a representative testing sample.

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