This paper presents some of the results of an investigation whose purpose is to examine what teenagers "have in mind" when they approach the task of driving, what factors lie behind these ideas, and how they develop during adolescence. Most of the subjects were too young to have a driving licence, and so a driving-like scenario was presented to them using interactive video (IV) technology. The footage was shot on a number of urban, suburban and rural routes around Crowthorne, and so were unfamiliar with the Glasgow and Manchester subjects used. It features a number of common hazardous traffic situations. Subjects were asked to view a video sequence and then invited to choose an appropriate driving response to that situation from a number of options which were presented on the screen. They were also asked to rate the dangerousness of the hazardous manoeuvre just viewed. The test was administered to 284 subjects divided by age, sex and driver status (qualified drivers; learner driver; non-driver old enough to hold a licence; too young to drive). Four measures were developed from the interactive video database thus obtained: a) risk perception; b) overtaking decisions; c) preferred speed; and d) braking decisions. The results are compared with those obtained from a sample of 1930 school children from the same two towns using an extensive Pre-Driver Questionnaire.
Abstract