Authors
Thomas III, F. D., Rilea, S., Blomberg, R. D., Peck, R. C., & Korbelak, K. T.
Publisher
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Website Section
Driver Type
Method
Quasi-experimental study
Abstract
The Risk Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT) training program addresses hazard anticipation and visual scanning issues in novice drivers. The current study updated the existing RAPT program and examined the impact of the updated RAPT on crash and violation records of newly licensed drivers (16 to 18 years) in their initial year of unsupervised driving. Participants (n=5251) were assigned to one of two groups: those who completed the RAPT program and a pre- and post-test or a comparison group who received a pre-test but did not receive any training. Participants consented to have their crash and violation records tracked for 12 months post-licensure. Analysis for group equivalency confirmed group assignment was effective. Comparison of pre- and post-test results in the RAPT group revealed substantial increases in correct performance, demonstrating participant attentiveness to RAPT program content. Further analyses demonstrated there was not a main effect of treatment on crash, however there was a significant treatment by sex interaction effect. This interaction effect was explored and showed a significant effect of treatment for males. Males in the RAPT group had approximately 23.7% lower crash rate relative to males in the comparison group. No effect of treatment was found for females. No association was found between traffic violations and the RAPT treatment. Overall, these results provide encouraging evidence that a brief, computer-based training intervention can positively influence driving safety for newly licensed teen drivers and these results should be explored in future research to inform driver training development.
Reference
Thomas III, F. D., Rilea, S. L., Blomberg, R. D., Peck. R. C., & Korbelak, K. T. (2016, January). Evaluation of the safety benefits of the risk awareness and perception training program for novice teen drivers (Report No. DOT HS 812 235). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Related Topics
Supplemental, online, risk awareness, perception training, RAPT, supplementary, simulator, PC, PC-based
