Abstract
The performance of novice teen and experienced adult drivers was investigated on a test track 6-months after an initial assessment soon after teen licensure. Adults were more likely to notice and stop for the red light when performing a cell phone task while approaching an intersection, while teens were more likely to go through without stopping. Workload ratings of teens were generally lower than those of adults, suggesting that teens believed they were at least as aware of the outside environment as experienced adults or that they believed they had sufficient resources to judge the traffic signal status and enter the intersection safely. It appears that since the initial session, teens became more comfortable with driving, reflected by significant changes in workload ratings, even though on average their stopping behavior did not improve. The results indicate that novice teens 6-months after licensure do not perform as well as experienced adults on intersection tasks when using a cell phone.
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