Opportunities for technology supported driver training. Driver education programs in the Netherlands focus on practical lessons on the vehicle, under supervision of the instructor. An important drawback is that the driving instructor has limited control over the learning environment. Opportunities for instruction depend on incidental events taking place in actual traffic. Advanced training instruments, like Computer Based Instructio (CBI) and simulators may be used to structure the learning situations according to an optimal sequence and frequency. However, despite rapidly improving simulation technology, a full mission simulator, enabling the training of all driving tasks, is not yet possible. The "Adviesdient Verkeer & Vervoer" (AVV) of the Ministry of Transportation in the Nether-lands, in cooperation with Volpe National Transportation System Center in the United States, investigates the possibilities of utilizing advanced learning aids for driver training purposes. Under contract of AVV, TNO Human Factors has prepared a paper discussing the opportunities of CBI and simulators for driver training, and the technological and educational requirements to realize their potential. In the past two decades, TNO Human Factors has acquired extensive knowledge and expertise on using advanced learning aids for driver training. This knowledge base was used as departure point. A small-scale literature revieew served to include actual developments in the paper. Developments in technology have opened new possibilities for driver training. CBI may be used to prepare student drivers to handling certain traffic situations that, for practical or safety reasons, can not be addressed in the practical lessons. Emphasis should be given to cues for recognizing and identifying potential risk and to teaching adequate maneuvers to prevent or reduce such risk. The advantage of simulators is that traffic situations and driving conditions can be modeled as desired. This makes it possible to tailor the training course to a trainee's individual training needs. The driving performance of the students can be assessed automatically, accurately, and objectively, and the results can be fed back instantaneously to the trainee. Furthermore, students can be safely confronted with unexpected behavior of other traffic participants, and can practice emergency procedures (e.g. tire-burst). There is evidence that driving simulators can be successfully used for training certain parts of the driving task. However, for successful application a series of questions still need to be answered. These are technological questions (how do I create, against acceptable costs, a simulated task environment that enables student drivers to acquire task critical skills accurately and rapidly?), as well as training questions (e.g. which task do I select for simulator-based training, which procedures do I use for performance assessment and feedback?). (Author/publisher)
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