Are Unskilled Drivers Aware of their Deficiencies? How Driving Skills Influence the Accuracy of Driving Performance Estimates

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown that drivers are overconfident and have inaccurate perceptions of their driving ability. There is evidence to suggest the skills needed to accurately assess performance are the same as those required to perform a task well. Thus, drivers that perform poorly may also be unable to accurately evaluate their performance (i.e., they suffer a “double curse”). In this study, drivers responded to yellow-light changes while performing a distracting task. Drivers were grouped into quartiles based upon driving performance and drivers' estimated braking performance and intersection safety were compared between quartiles. Evidence of a “double curse” was found for both braking performance and intersection safety. The poorest performing drivers thought they performed as well as the best drivers despite performing significantly worse. Additionally, drivers did not perceive distraction effects in braking performance

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