The main objective of this study was to investigate the development of a non-invasive tool for assessing the quality of a driver’s latent hazard schema. Verbal and eye tracking protocols were mapped to Endsley’s model of situation awareness (SA) as a means of measuring schema development. Participants were asked to drive a simulator with various hazard scenarios. Verbal protocol results showed that teenswere less likely to verbally associate subtle cues and accurately state what ‘could happen’. The verbal protocols of teens consisted primarily of simple statements of what was happening and what they were currently doing. Whereas, experienced drivers’ verbal protocols indicated higher levels of processing of the driving environment and contained projections of what could happen. In mapping driver commentary and eye glances for potential hazards in which the hazardous element is hidden from view, experienced adult drivers achieved overall higher level of situation awareness than teen drivers.
Summary:The present study investigated the effectiveness of a tablet-based hazard anticipation training program on teenage drivers. Verbal and eye tracking protocols were mapped to Endsley's three level model of situation awareness (SA) as a means of measuring schema development. Participants were trained with a tablet based training program containing hazard identification scenarios. After six months they were asked to drive a simulator and on-road drive with various hazard scenarios. Results showed a significant difference between trained teen drivers and placebo teen drivers, both in eye tracking and verbal protocol. Verbal protocol and eye tracking protocol of trained teen drivers showed higher order of situation awareness in either of Endsley's model levels. This means trained group were more capable of identifying and mitigating the hazards and verbalizing the future states of the environment. In conclusion, the tablet based hazard identification and anticipation training program could be an effective post-licensure training program to give better insight of "what is going on" in driving environment.
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