Author(s)

H. Malik, A. Rakotonirainy, G. Larue & F. Maire

Abstract

The value and effectiveness of driver training as a means of improving driver behaviour and road safety continues to fuel research and societal debates. Knowledge about what are the characteristics of safe driving that need to be learnt is extensive. Research has shown that young drivers are over represented in crash statistics. The encouraging fact is that novice drivers have shown improvement in road scanning pattern after training. This paper presents a driver behaviour study conducted on a closed circuit track. A group of experienced and novice drivers performed repeated multiple manoeuvres (i.e. turn, overtake and lane change) under identical conditions Variables related to the driver, vehicle and environment were recorded in a research vehicle equipped with multiple invehicle sensors such as GPS accelerometers, vision processing, eye tracker and laser scanner. Each group exhibited consistently a set of driving pattern characterising a particular group. Behaviour such as the indicator usage before lane change, following distance while performing a manoeuvre were among the consistent observed behaviour differentiating novice from experienced drivers. This paper will highlight the results of our study and emphasize the need for effective driver training programs focusing on young and novice drivers. Keywords: driver training, overtake, turn, novice and experienced drivers. 1 Introduction Road crashes are the single highest killer of 15-24 year-olds in industrial countries [1]. Driving is a complex task which requires the driver to assess subjectively their position with respect to the lanes and surrounding vehicles and anticipate the future trajectory of their vehicle within that scenario. Therefore driving safely takes time to learn and needs extensive practice. With time, the

Keywords

driver training, overtake, turn, novice and experienced drivers