Progression of hazard perception knowledge,licensure status and driving experience among teen drivers

Abstract

Inexperience contributes to the elevated crash risk among novice teen drivers. Hazard perception is considered a kind of experiential knowledge that is acquired slowly over time. We proposed a process for better understanding and identifying the progression for hazard perception knowledge and its relation to driving experience among novice teen drivers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit teen drivers’ perception of hazards, and then combinations of hazards were used to compose two representative driving scenarios. A written survey was subsequently used to further explore teens’ perspective on hazards contextualized in the two scenarios and their level of experience with each hazard. Results show that there was a progression of experience which contributes to their development of driving tacit knowledge over time. With more experience and more advancement in their licensure status, teens with an unrestricted license reasoned about the driving hazards more holistically, took into account environmental characteristics, and drove to more variety of places. These findings can be used in designing learning activities and interventions for teen drivers, and the progression of experience can be included for tailoring activities to individual experience level.