Use of a Fixed-Base Driving Simulator to Evaluate the Effects of Experience and PC-Based Risk Awareness Training on Drivers' Decisions

Abstract

Driver education classes were once seen as a remedy for young drivers overin-volvement in crashes, but research results from the early 1970s were disappointing. Few changes in the content or methods of instruction occurred until recently, but this could change rapidly. Personal computers (PCs) can now present videos or photorealistic simulations of risky, cognitively demanding traffic scenarios that require quick responses without putting the participant at risk. As such programs proliferate, evaluating their effectiveness poses a major challenge. We report the use of a fixed-base driving simulator to study the effects of both experience on the road and PC-based risk awareness training on younger drivers' part-task simulator driving performance in risky traffic scenarios. We ran three groups of drivers on the simulator: one group first trained on the PC (younger, inexperienced drivers) and two groups who received no PC training (younger, inexperienced and experienced drivers). Overall, the younger, inexperienced drivers who were trained on a PC operated their vehicles in risky scenarios in ways that differed measurably from those of the untrained younger, inexperienced drivers and, more important, in ways that we believe would decrease their exposure to risk considering that, on average, their behavior was more similar to the behavior of the untrained, experienced drivers. More research is needed to demonstrate whether these findings apply on the open road to the larger population of younger drivers. However, at least initially, the research suggests that PC-based risk awareness training programs have the potential to reduce the high crash rate among younger, inexperienced drivers.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aizenberg, R. , & McKenzie, D. M. (1997). Teen and senior drivers (CAL-DMV-RSS-97-168). Sacramento, CA: Department of Motor Vehicles.

Blank, D. , & McCord, R. (1998). Design and presentation of a CD-ROM driving program (Driver-ZED). In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting (pp. 1401-1402). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Fisk, A. D. , Lee, M. D. , & Rogers, W. A. (1991). Recombination of automatic processing components: The effects of transfer, reversal, and conflict situations. Human Factors, 33, 267–280.

Fuller, R. (1988). On learning to make risky decisions. Ergonomics, 31, 519–526.

Glaser, R. , & Fisher, D. L. (1997). Driving simulators: Are they valid test environments for ITS development? In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 41st Annual Meeting (pp. 926-928). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Gregersen, N. P. (1996). Young car drivers: Why are they over represented in car accidents? How can driver training improve their situation? (VTI Rapport 409A). Linkoping: Swedish National Road and Transport Institute.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (1988). Sixteen-year-old drivers' death rates rising at alarming rate. Status Report, 33(6), 1–2.

Kaptein, N. A. , Theeuwes, J. , & van der Horst, R. (1995). Driving simulator validity: Some considerations. Transportation Research Record, 1550, 30–36.

Laurie, N. L., Zhang, S., Mundoli, R., Duffy, S. A., Collura, J., & Fisher, D. L. (2000). Evaluation of alternative DO NOT ENTER signs: Failures of attention. Manuscript submitted for publication.

10.

Lonero, L. P. , Clinton, K. M. , & Douglas, M. B. (1998). Driver education curriculum outline. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting (pp. 1396-1400). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

11.

Lonero, L. , Clinton, K. M. , Laurie, I. , Black, D. , Brock, J. , & Wilde, G. (1995). Novice driver education model curriculum outline. Washington, DC: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

12.

Mayhew, D. R. , & Simpson, H. M. (1995). The role of driving experience: Implications for training and licensing of new drivers. Toronto, Canada: Insurance Bureau of Canada.

13.

McKenna, F. , & Crick, J. (1997). Developments in hazard perception (Transport Research Laboratory Report 297). Crowthorne, UK: Transport Research Laboratory.

14.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (1993). Addressing the safety issues related to younger and older drivers (Report to Congress, January 6, 1993). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.

15.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (1994). Research agenda for an improved novice driver education program (Report to Congress, May 31, 1994). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.

16.

Ranney, T. A. (1994). Models of driving behavior: A review of their evaluation. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 26, 733–750.

17.

Regan, M. A. , Deery, H. A. , & Triggs, T. J. (1998). Training for attentional control in novice car drivers. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting (pp. 1452-1456). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

18.

Regan, J. A. , Deery, H. A. , & Triggs, T. J. (1999). A technique for enhancing risk perception in novice car drivers. In Proceedings of the Road Safety Research, Enforcement and Education Annual Conference (pp. 51–55). Wellington, New Zealand: Land Transport Safety Authority and New Zealand Police.

19.

Shiffrin, R. M. , & Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory. Psychological Review, 84, 127–190.

20.

Triggs, T. J. (1994). Human performance and driving: The role of simulation in improving younger driver safety. In Proceedings of the 12th Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (Vol. 1, pp. 23-26). Toronto, Canada: Human Factors Association of Canada.

21.

Triggs, T. J. , & Regan, M. A. (1998). Development of a cognitive skills training product for novice drivers. In Proceedings of the 1998 Road Safety Research, Education and Enforcement Conference (pp. 46-50). Wellington, New Zealand: Land Transport Authority.

22.

Triggs, T. J. , & Stanway, J. (1995). Simulation in driver training: A report of an Australian research program. In Proceedings of the Road Safety in Europe, 2a (part 3, pp. 1-17).

23.

Wallace, P. R. , & Regan, M. A. (1998). Case study: Converting human factors research into design specifications for instructional solution. In Proceedings of the 3rd International SimTect Conference (pp. 117-121). Adelaide, Australia: SimTect.

24.

Wickens, C. D. (1991). Processing resources and attention. In D. Damos (Ed.), Multiple task performance (pp. 3-34). London: Taylor & Francis.

25.

Willis, D. K. (1998). The impetus for the development of a new risk management training program for teen drivers. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting (pp. 1394-1395). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.