In this report, there are two main questions: (a) To what extent are inexperienced road users capable of applying knowledge and insight in actual traffic circumstances, and which underlying perceptual and cognitive processes can explain why the application of regulations is successful or not; and (b) does traffic education contribute to the improvement of traffic behaviour? Both questions were studied using data on traffic behaviour and the underlying processes among young (mainly inexperienced) mopedists in a test, carried out in September-November 2000. The test participants were young, inexperienced mopedists who had an obligatory theory certificate. The test was the first experiment in the Netherlands in which the driving achievements of these road users were compared with the norm of the Central Bureau for Driving Licenses (`Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen', CBR) for driving safely without hindering other road users. As there is no official examination for mopedists, the study derived the CBR standard from the existing standard for the motorcycle driving licence. The results of the test are that, irrespective of the amount of previous experience with the moped, or sex or education, practically every young mopedist failed the examination using the derived CBR standards. The study showed unambiguously that a good traffic knowledge on its own does not result in sufficient skills to drive a moped safely and without hindering other road users.
Abstract