Hazard anticipation of young novice drivers - SWOV

planning of a trip, choice of the mode of transportation, choice of route and
time of driving. An example of a strategic choice is taking the short route
through the village instead of taking the longer but easier route around the
village. On the tactical level drivers choose their cruising speed and headway
(the time interval between the car ahead and the own car). This implies
considering manoeuvres such as overtaking or not in various road and traffic
situations. Choices at the tactical level do not include the fast reactions in
case of acute dangers but rather the choices for actions to keep a safety
margin that is large enough to avert a crash should a hazard materialize.
Choices on the operational level concern the second-to-second execution of
basic lateral and longitudinal control tasks of driving (steering, braking, gear
shifting) required to keep the car in lane and to avoid crashes. Although
hazard anticipation on the strategic level does exist (e.g. 'It snows and it is
dark. As I am an inexperienced driver and not used to drive in these
dangerous conditions, I will not take the car but will take the train instead.'),
hazard anticipation on the strategic level will not be discussed in this thesis.
This thesis is about hazard anticipation on the tactical level. The operational
level is only relevant as far as decisions made at the tactical level require the
execution of task in relation to the appropriate course and speed. However,
the reflexes at the operational level in cases of immanent threats (e.g. hard
braking when a child that was not expected suddenly crosses the road a few
metres ahead from between parked cars), is not discussed in this thesis. As
this chapter is about the underlying factors that affect hazard anticipation of
young novice drivers, hazard anticipation itself is not discussed in this
chapter, but will be discussed in the next chapter (Chapter 3). The fifth
category is about the task demands and exposure to specific road and traffic
situations. How difficult the driving task is depends on the speed and the
vehicle type one is driving, the behaviour of other road users in the vicinity
of the driver, the road and the road environment (e.g. an intersection or a
motorway) and the (weather) conditions (rain, fog, day and night).
The four factors in the column to the right of each category in Figure 2.1
are factors that are supposed to be constituent for that specific category. In
order to keep the taxonomy convenient, only four factors are mentioned for
each category. There is not necessarily a direct relationship between a factor
in a particular layer and the factor directly underneath or above this factor in
another layer. Although there are no relationships between the boxes to the
left in one layer and a box directly underneath or above in another layer (e.g.
between 'Peer group influences' and 'Fatigue'), there are relationships
between the layers at the categorical level (the most left column). The idea is
that drivers have to balance their capabilities (a product of biological aspects,
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