Hazard anticipation of young novice drivers - SWOV

wears a safety belt, implies that raising the percentage from say 90% to 100%
still is an effective road safety measure.
2.7. Conclusions
The high crash rate of young novice drivers is a universal and multifaceted
problem. It cannot simply be reduced to only a lack of skills due to
inexperience or to only the propensity to take and accept risks due to their
youthfulness (i.e. immaturity of the brain). Inexperience and youthfulness
are interrelated and embedded in a social context. In the present chapter, an
overview was presented of the many facets of the young driver problem that
affect their ability to anticipate hazards in traffic. Hazard anticipation itself
was not discussed. The theoretical background of the psychological aspects
of what they do in traffic (information processing and calibration) (see Figure
2.1) and in particular hazard anticipation, is the central theme of the next
chapter. In the present chapter, a distinction has been made between
biological facets (i.e. age and sex) and sociological facets (i.e. youth culture,
peer pressure). This could leave the impression that 'nature' and 'nurture' are
completely distinct. In reality the two are strongly intertwined, youth culture
and peer contact provide the situation in which the bodily and brain
developments can be applied and personality characteristics and cognitive
function determine the preference for and selection of situations to be in. For
example, during adolescence their peers (see Section 2.4.2) influence what
young drivers do. The fact however that peers are so important for
adolescents is partly caused by their brain development (e.g. Spear, 2000).
The specific exposure in situations further triggers and shapes the bodily
functions, with learning processes and habit formation allowing for finer
adjustments between nature and nurture. In this chapter, the distinction
between 'nature' and 'nurture' was only made in order to classify the many
aspects of the young driver problem. Besides the biological and sociological
facets of the young driver problem, acute impairments of one's driving
capabilities were discussed (alcohol, drugs, fatigue, distraction and
emotions). Finally, the effects of exposure to dangers in traffic were
discussed.
The present chapter was intended to provide an overview of factors of which
young novice drivers differ from older, more experienced drivers and that
influence driving behaviour, in particular hazard anticipation. The
determinants of driving behaviour discussed in this chapter indicate that
there are many underlying causes why young novice drivers are probably
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