Two hundred and twenty-six participants in a one-day safe driving course organised by the Metropolitan Police Department, Japan were studied over a 16-day period. After practical driver training, the driving skills of the participants were assessed. Driving experience, age, gender and observer all affected driving skills. Safety checking and positioning skills improved with experience, but speed increased in the first 4 years of driving before decreasing again. Car control and signalling skills did not change with time. Driver attitudes were assessed using a number of scales. Concern for a comfortable drive increased for the first 6 years and then declined. Anxiety about the appearance of hazards decreased for the first 4 years and increased thereafter. The frequency of traffic offences rose for the first 6 years and declined thereafter. Drivers with more than 3 years' experience were more confident than drivers with less than one year's experience.
Abstract