FACTORS AFFECTING VARIABILITY OF DRIVER GAP-ACCEPTANCE BEHAVIOR

Experiments have been conducted which involved repeated measurements or observation of an individual driver's gap-acceptance behavior in order to identify factors which influence both within-subject and between-subject variability. The experiments included both simulated and real-life situations and subjects ranged from students with relatively little driving experience to police drivers and members of the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Within subject variance could be explained in part by the speed and type of the on-coming vehicle, although the greater part of the variability in the subject's critical gap remained unexplained. It is suggested that between-subject variance could be attributed to factors such as extroversion, age, annual mileage and type of vehicle normally driven by the subject, although the evidence here is not conclusive. © 1978 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.