Washington State Driving Intervention Research Study

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effect of hazard perception and attention maintenance training and testing on driving performance. Participants will be randomized into a treatment group receiving hazard perception or attention maintenance training or a control group receiving either vehicle maintenance training or the status quo ZED training. Randomization will occur by location. Researchers will compare the treatment and control groups to see if there are differences in driving behavior and crash rates.

The experiment's purpose is to assess the performance of the investigator's novel Driving Hazard Perception and Attention Maintenance training intervention on improving related driving skills, performance in driving exams, and long-term benefits as assessed by crash statistics and naturalistic driving behavior. A two-group pre-post experimental design will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the new Driving Hazard Perception Training. Each training (hazard perception and attention maintenance) will be assessed in relation to the status quo (ZED training) and in relation to a placebo that has no training related to hazard perception or attention maintenance (vehicle maintenance training). Participants beginning a driver education program will be recruited. Each participating location will be randomized to one of the four research arms. Baseline hazard perception assessment will be performed first, and then participants will receive one of the four trainings. Lastly, all participants will take a hazard perception exam to assess the participants' performance. All participants will also use a smartphone application to collect driving data during the learner driver period and 12 months of independent driving. Driving behaviors and state-level crash data will be used to assess the impact of the interventions.