Innovation reports provide information on the course and results of research and development work conducted in connection with medium- and long-term further development of the system of driving licence testing during a given two-year period. With the aid of innovation reports, it is thus possible to assess the quality, progress and scientific basis for further development of the driving licence test. The present innovation report describes the core aspects of research performed by the TÜV | DEKRA arge tp 21 working group with regard to the theoretical driving test over the report period 2009/2010. The defined priority tasks concerned (1) elaboration of a driving competence model, (2) evaluation and further development of the traditional question formats and test methodology, (3) research work on the use of computer-generated dynamic driving scenarios, and (4) elaboration of innovative test items for the testing of components of driving competence which have not been tested adequately to date in terms of action knowledge. Re (1): Taking into account the content-based demand levels of driving behaviour (exempli gratia DONGES, 2009), alongside levels of driving competence acquisition (exempli gratia GRATTENTHALER, KRÜGER & SCHOCH, 2009), a “driving competence structure model” was developed to classify content-based components of driving competence and to structure the test items accordingly. At the same time, this permits elaboration of prototypical demand situations for the operationalisation of test content, as well as description of the areas of content and driving competence which can be covered by the different forms of testing. Re (2): Following introduction of a PC-based theoretical driving test, the technical framework for test realisation (exempli gratia test program interface) was evaluated and optimisation potential suitable to reduce the susceptibility to manipulation was implemented (exempli gratia dissolution of the fixed pairs of basic and supplementary test sheets, randomised order of test questions and of the possible answers to individual questions). Building upon the results of the revision project, the continuous evaluation of test questions and parallel tests by the Institute for Prevention and Road Safety (IPV) demonstrated that, in principle, the vast majority of test questions in use fulfils the intended function of competence verification in accordance with various criteria relating to psychological testing. Re (3): To improve the form of question presentation and the associated instruction formats, the TÜV | DEKRA arge tp 21 working group has developed the software solution “VICOM”. With the aid of this software, the photographs used to date were replaced with computer-generated static images, which could hence be created and varied much more efficiently. Furthermore, it became possible to elaborate dynamic video sequences. The testing of questions with dynamic situation presentation suggests that the intended assessment of hazard perception competences could be better achieved by the new instruction format with no solution hints remaining visible in the final image (FRIEDEL, WEIßE & RÜDEL, 2010). Re (4): Development potential for the theoretical driving test is identified especially with regard to the assessment of action competences in the fields of traffic perception and hazard avoidance. At the time of testing, the candidate does not usually possess the driving experience which can be considered prerequisite for acquisition, and thus these safety-relevant competences cannot be addressed in the traditional “knowledge test”. The possibilities for assessment within the traditional practical test are likewise limited, as the demand situations in real traffic cannot be controlled at will by the examiner, and hazardous situations also cannot be brought about deliberately for safety reasons. It appears necessary, therefore, to develop an innovative form of testing for the German driving licence test which would permit realistic computer simulations of traffic and, in particular, hazard situations, and could thus be used to operationalise the aforementioned competence components. Corresponding hazard perception tests are already in use in the systems of novice driver preparation in a number of European and overseas countries. Further realisation of the optimisation potential for driving licence testing in Germany requires that its further development be placed in the context of the overall system of novice driver preparation. To raise the efficiency of novice driver preparation, the quality assurance and further development measures must be focussed not merely on input specifications such as teaching plans and examination guidelines, but instead also on output specifications such as the competence level to be achieved by the novice driver. The training standards to be defined must describe the minimum levels of driving competence which a novice driver should have achieved at the transitions between the individual phases of novice driver preparation in a sufficiently specific manner to permit translation into test items, and thus evaluation within the framework of driving licence tests. (Author/publisher)
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