Effect of Experience on Driving Performance in New Teenage Drivers

Motor vehicle crash rates are highest among novice teen drivers, especially during the first six months and 1000 miles of independent licensed driving. Crash rates decline with driving experience, however, no research has demonstrated learning effects on performance due to independent driving experience and the extent and variability in driving performance among novice young drivers has not been established. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of driving experience on driving performance. We propose to use standard measures of driving performance under controlled experimental conditions on a driving test-track and vehicle designed for this purpose. Specifically, we propose to test the driving performance of a sample of teens within a few weeks after licensure while they are still relatively inexperienced drivers and again after greater than 6 months and 1000 miles of driving experience test their driving performance. A sample of experience adult drivers would be tested in similar fashion to provide an additional comparison group.