Abstract
This study is an evaluation of a Risk Awareness and Training Program (RAPT) designed for younger drivers. Our prior study demonstrated that a version of RAPT improved the risk perception of younger, novice drivers in a driving simulator as indicated by their eye-fixations in critical situations. The current evaluation was carried out in the field, comparing a group of younger drivers (18–21 years old) trained with RAPT with an untrained group of the same age-range. Each driver was fitted with a head-mounted portable eye-tracker that collected data during the drive (a pre-determined course of approximately 16 miles that had ten critical locations similar in concept to the scenarios in the training session). The drivers' eye-movement data, especially point of gaze, were analyzed at these ten locations. There was a significant improvement in risk perception (as indexed by fixations on pre-determined areas of potential risk) for drivers who had completed RAPT. This is the first study to show that training of any kind can have an effect on drivers' detection of risky areas in the field.
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