Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a specific post-license driver training program on postural stability and vehicle kinematics during cornering. Background: Inertial forces experienced during driving can perturb a driver's posture, which may in turn diminish a driver's perceptual sensitivity and corresponding control actions. Methods: A trainee group (n = 21) and control group (n = 12) participated in the study. The trainee group participated in a 2-day driver training program that included instruction on how to enhance perceptual sensitivity, postural stability, and vehicle kinematics during common driving maneuvers, including cornering. Postural stability and vehicle kinematics were assessed during cornering maneuvers performed on a closed-circuit track using an instrumented vehicle prior to and following training. Results: Trainee drivers experienced enhanced postural stability and reduced the magnitude and onset of peak vehicle lateral accelerations following training. Prior to training, drivers who were more posturally unstable tended to experience higher lateral vehicle accelerations, and drivers with the biggest improvements in postural stability following training tended to experience the greatest reductions in lateral accelerations of the vehicle. Conclusion: Training led to changes in postural stability that were associated with reduced lateral accelerations during cornering. Application: The reduction in lateral accelerations following training in the present study indicates a greater dynamic margin of safety for cornering. Overall findings suggest that the driver training programs produced beneficial effects on cornering kinematics and that these effects were associated with enhanced postural stability.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Carcaillon, L.I., & Salmi, L.R. (2005). Evaluation of a program to reduce motor-vehicle collisions among young adults in the county of Landes, France. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 37, 1049-1055.
2.
Carstensen, G. (2002). The effect on accident risk of a change in driver education in Denmark. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 34, 111-121.
3.
Chapman, P., Underwood, G., & Roberts, K. (2002). Visual search patterns in trained and untrained novice drivers. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 5, 157-167.
4.
Chen, S., Rakotonirainy, A., Sheenan, M., Krishnaswamy, S., & Loke, S.-W. (2006, October). Assessing crash risks on curves. Paper presented at the Australian Road Safety Research Policing and Education Conference, Surfers Paradise, Australia.
5.
Dorn, L., & Barker, D. (2005). The effects of driver training on simulated driving performance. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 37, 63-69.
6.
Fildes, B., Logan, D., Fitzharris, M., Scully, J., & Burton, D. (2003). The Australian national crash in-depth study: The first three years. Melbourne, Australia: Monash University Accident Research Centre.
7.
Fisher, D.L., Laurie, N.E., Glaser, R., Connerney, K., Pollatsek, A., Duffy, S.A., et al. (2002). Use of a fixed-base driving simulator to evaluate the effects of experience and PC-based risk awareness training on drivers' decisions. Human Factors, 44, 287-302.
8.
Gardner, F. (1998). Drive to survive. St. Ives , Australia: Drive.
9.
Gibson, J.J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
10.
Gibson, J.J., & Crooks, L.E. (1938). A theoretical field-analysis of automobile driving . American Journal of Psychology, 51, 453-471.
11.
Gregersen, N.P. (1996). Young drivers' overestimation of their own skill: An experiment on the relation between training strategy and skill. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 28, 243-250.
12.
Hatakka, M., Keskinen, E., Gregersen, N.P., Glad, A., & Hernetkoski, K. (2002). From control of the vehicle to personal self-control: Broadening the perspectives to driver education . Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour , 5, 201-215.
13.
Karnopp, D. (2004). Vehicle stability. New York : Marcel Dekker.
14.
Laapotti, S., & Keskinen, E. (1998). Differences in fatal loss-of-control accidents between young male and female drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 30, 435-442.
15.
Laapotti, S., Keskinen, E., Hatakka, M., & Katila, A. (2001). Novice drivers' accidents and violations: A failure on higher or lower hierarchical levels of driving behaviour. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 33, 759-769.
16.
Lee, D.N., & Young, D.S. (1986). Gearing actions to the environment. In H. Heuer & C. Fromm (Eds.), Generation and modulation of action patterns (pp. 217-230). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Verlag.
17.
Lund, A.K., & Williams, A.F. (1985). A review of the literature evaluating the defensive driving course. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 17, 449-460.
18.
Macdonald, W.A., & Hoffman, E.R. (1980). Review of relationships between steering wheel reversal rate and driving task demand. Human Factors, 22, 733-739.
19.
Mayhew, D.R., & Simpson, H.M. (2002). The safety value of driver education and training . Injury Prevention, 8(Suppl. 2), ii3-ii7.
20.
McGehee, D.V., Raby, M., Carney, C., Lee, J.D., & Reyes, M.L. (2007). Extending parental mentoring using an event-triggered video intervention in rural teen drivers. Journal of Safety Research, 38, 215-227.
21.
McKenna, F.P., Horswill, M.S., &Alexander, J.L. (2006). Does anticipation training affect drivers' risk taking? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 12, 1-10.
22.
McRuer, D.T., Allen, R.W., Weir, D.H., & Klein, R.H. (1977). New results in driver steering control models . Human Factors, 19, 381-397.
23.
Petersen, A.J., Barrett, R.S., & Morrison, S. (2006). Driver training and emergency brake performance in cars with anti-lock brakes. Safety Science, 44, 905-917.
24.
Riccio, G.E. (1995). Coordination of postural control and vehicular control: Implications for multimodal perception and simulation of self-motion . In P. Hancock, J. Flach, J. Caird, & K. Vicente (Eds.), Local applications of the ecological approach to human-machine systems (Vol. 2, pp. 122-181). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
25.
Schiff, W., & Arnone, W. (1995). Perceiving and driving: Where parallel roads meet . In P. Hancock, J. Flach, J. Caird, & K. Vicente (Eds.), Local applications of the ecological approach to human-machine systems (Vol. 2, pp. 1-35). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
26.
Schöner, G., Dijkstra, T.M.H., & Jeka, J.J. (1998). Action-perception patterns emerge from coupling and adaptation. Ecological Psychology, 10, 323-346.
27.
Senserrick, T.M. (2007). Recent developments in young driver education, training and licensing in Australia. Journal of Safety Research , 38, 237-244.
28.
Stuckman-Johnson, D.L., Lund, A.K., Williams, A.F., & Osbourne, D.W. (1989). Comparative effects of driver involvement programs on crashes and violations. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 21, 203-215.
29.
Sumer, N., Ozkan, T., & Lajunen, T. (2006). Asymmetric relationship between driving and safety skills. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 38, 703-711.
30.
Treffner, P., Barrett, R.S., & Petersen, A.J. (2002). Stability and skill in driving. Human Movement Science, 21, 749-784.
31.
Vereijken, B., van Emmerik, R.E.A., Bongaardt, R., Beek, W.J., & Newell, K.M. (1997). Changing coordinative structures in complex skill acquisition. Human Movement Science, 16, 823-844.
32.
Vereijken, B., van Emmerik, R.E.A., Whiting, H.T., & Newell, K. (1992). Free(z)ing degrees of freedom in skill acquisition . Journal of Motor Behavior, 24, 133-142.
33.
Warren, W.H. (2006). The dynamics of perception and action. Psychological Review, 113, 358-389.
34.
Watson, B. (2003, September). Research priorities in driver training: Bridging the gap between research and practice. Paper presented at the Road Safety Research Policing and Education Conference, Sydney, Australia.
35.
Wilde, G.J.S. (1982). The theory of risk homeostasis: Implications for safety and health. Risk Analysis, 2, 209-225.
36.
Williams, A.F. (2006). Young driver risk factors: Successful and unsuccessful approaches for dealing with them and an agenda for the future. Injury Prevention, 12(Suppl. 1), i4-i8.
37.
Zikovitz, D.C., & Harris, L.R. (1999). Head tilt during driving. Ergonomics , 42, 740-746.
