Doctoral Degrees (Civil Engineering)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/764

Browse

Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Civil Engineering) by Subject "Automobile drivers -- Learning"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    South African novice drivers: exploring hazard perception development during the learner driver training phase
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Venter, Karien; Sinclair, Marion; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Civil Engineering.
    Introduction Novice drivers, worldwide, have an increased risk of being in a fatal crash. Despite reliable crash data, indications are that South African novice drivers are no exception and that novice drivers form part of the road safety problem. Study topic A key element of safe driving is the ability to recognise and react to potentially hazardous situations in the road and traffic environment. However, this is a skill that is developed over time and with experience. This study explores the novice driver hazard perception development of South African novice drivers over the course of their learner driver training. Purpose The study follows the journey of 26 South African learner drivers to assess the manner and extent to which hazard perception development takes place, during the learner driver phase. Methodology A naturalistic driving study approach was followed. Naturalistic driving studies make use of a data acquisition system to explore novice driver behaviour within the context of road, environment, and vehicle. A questionnaire collected demographic and risk perception information from the novice drivers while the data acquisition system collected image material from participants and environment as well as data on speed, location (GPS coordinates) and acceleration. Changes in gaze behaviour were used as an indicator to assess the extent to which hazard perception development takes place over the course of the training. Results The results show that although K53 learner driver training takes place in a highly controlled environment, there are indications that hazard perception and situational awareness are improving. The observed environment was mostly urban, and apart from changes in general gaze behaviour, scan behaviour at selected traffic environments were explored. Fixation on the front of the vehicle was significantly reduced over the course of the training. Indications are that scan behaviour in general improved with time and with driving experience. Female novice drivers improved their ability to effectively scan the environment slightly more than male participants. Conclusion Internationally there is a move to implement interventions such as safer road designs in support of facilitating a safer traffic system. The aim of this study was to provide evidence of hazard perception development in South African novice drivers and to recommend ways in which this knowledge can be used to improve the safety of the South African road and traffic system.