| Description: | Drivers aged 16-24 represent 12% of the total driving population, yet account for 20% of all road vehicle accidents. Teen driver/passenger deaths account for 25% of total teen deaths from any cause–more than cancer, homicide and suicide. It is clear that roadway safety has been, and continues to be, a major public health concern–and one which lacks standardization of training and education practices at the state/national level. The present study aims to build upon past research involving the expanded use of driving simulators to supplement existing driver training curricula. The eventual goal is to develop, validate, and standardize a state-level and nationally accepted revision to existing driver training policies–including simulation as a core component. Subsequent to our preliminary pilot study in 2012, numerous revisions have been made in an effort to improve the program, including enhancements to module content, modifications to the simulator itself, and revised data collection and analysis methods. The updated module content of the training program will focus on the statistically documented top five causes of teen driver accidents (in New York State): unsafe speed, failure to yield right of way, driver inattention or distraction, driver inexperience, and following too closely. In this paper, these revisions will be described in detail, along with future recommendations for quantifying the success of using simulators by analyzing teen driving performance data longitudinally over time. Although the focus of this paper is on refinement of module content (and data collection/analysis methods), in an effort to quantify the improvement of the simulation-based framework, we have recruited a small cohort of participants to experience our revised program whose results are analyzed and reported. This process will help to ensure the continued evolution of our program towards achieving our long-term goal: widespread deployment and standardization of simulators at a national level. |
| Project/Activity Leader(s): | Kemper Lewis, Professor and Chair; Kevin Hulme, Research Assistant Professor, Center for Engineering Design and Applied Simulation |
| Unit: | School of Engineering and Applied Sciences |
| Department: | Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
| City: | Amherst |
| State: | NY |
| External Funding: | Yes |
| Funding Source: | National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (NSF I/UCRC); with direct support from Moog |
| Start Date: | 2010 |
| End Date: | active |
| External Partners: | Moog Inc. |
| Are UB students involved? | No |
