Response to Intersection Conflict Situations Across Driver Age and Experience

Abstract

Automobile crashes are a leading cause of death for teens, and intersections are common sites for crashes. Understanding how novice teen drivers respond differently than experienced adult drivers in common potential crash situations may further efforts to reduce the risk associated with teen drivers. A study involving novice teen drivers duplicated a portion of the protocol from a study involving adult drivers in order to compare novice teen performance to that of older and more experienced age groups. Two intersection events are examined: oncoming left turn and unexpected cross traffic from the right. Four categories of variables are used: anticipation of the event, response to the event, reaction time, and safety implications. Anticipation: novice drivers are the least likely to anticipate potential threats, whereas older drivers are the most likely anticipate such dangers. Response: overall, older participants were much more likely to steer to avoid and middle-aged drivers were the least likely to only apply the brakes. Reaction time: novice drivers had the fastest transition time to braking, and, interestingly, their reactions differed significantly from those of young drivers. Safety implications: novice drivers had the shortest values for minimum TTC, and older drivers had the largest values. Conclusions: older drivers had the largest safety margins, and despite novice teen drivers' faster reaction times, their safety margins are quite similar to middle-aged adult drivers.