The effects of driving experience on responses to a static hazard perception test

Novice drivers exhibit deficits in hazard perception that are likely to increase their risk of collisions. We developed a static hazard perception test that presents still images to observers and requires them to indicate the presence of a traffic conflict that would lead to a collision. Responses to these scenes were obtained for young adult novice (N = 29) and experienced drivers (N = 27). Additionally, participants rated the hazard risk and clutter of each scene. Novice drivers rated traffic conflicts as less hazardous and responded more slowly to them. Using a subset of 21 scenes, we were able to discriminate novice and experienced young adult drivers with a classification accuracy of 78% and a scale reliability (Cronbach's alpha) of .91. The potential applications of this research include the development of standardized hazard perception tests that can be used for driver evaluation, training and licensure. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.