Objective We examined the effectiveness of a second exposure to ACCEL, a novel driving training program, on latent hazard anticipation (HA) performance several months after their first exposure. Background Past research has demonstrated that PC-based driver training programs can improve latent HA performance in young novice drivers, but these improvements are below the ceiling level. Method Twenty-five participants were randomly assigned to either the Placebo group, the ACCEL-1 group, or the ACCEL-2 group. Following the completion of the assigned training program, participants drove a series of eighteen scenarios incorporating latent hazards in a high-fidelity driving simulator with their eyes tracked. Participants returned two to six months following the first session and completed either the placebo program (ACCEL-1 and Placebo groups), or a second dose of training program (ACCEL-2 group), again followed by simulated evaluation drives. Results The ACCEL-2 group showed improved HA performance compared to the ACCEL-1 and Placebo groups in the second evaluation. Conclusion ACCEL enhances young novice drivers’ latent HA performance. The effectiveness of ACCEL is retained up to 6 months, and a second dose further improves HA performance. Application Policy makers should consider requiring such training before the completion of graduate driver license programs. Young novice drivers that do not show successful latent HA performance could be required to complete additional training before being allowed to drive without restrictions.
Young drivers are found to be particularly poor at anticipating latent hazards compared to experienced drivers. Road Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT; Pradhan et al., 2009) is a PC-based driver training program that was designed and demonstrated to improve latent hazard anticipation in young drivers. The current longitudinal study aims to examine retention and transfer of RAPT. Participants will complete pre- and post-training evaluation of their latent hazard anticipation skills in both near- and far-transfer scenarios, and all participants will be randomly assigned to either a RAPT or Placebo training group. Two months later, they will be asked to return for the second evaluation session where their latent hazard anticipation skills will be measured again. We hypothesize that latent hazard anticipation performance will persist for the near-transfer scenarios but decay for the far-transfer scenarios.
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