DEVELOPMENT OF AN ON-ROAD DRIVING ASSESSMENT FOR NOVICE TEEN DRIVERS

Abstract

Teen drivers exit the learner permit period with difficulty executing a variety of driving behaviors. The ability to identify these skill deficits during the learner permit phase would significantly advance teen driver research. Objective: To develop a safe, developmentally appropriate, and challenging assessment of teen drivers during the learner permit phase, the On-road Driving Assessment for Learner Teen Drivers (tODA), that can assess a wide range of specific driving tasks and characterize the nature of safety-relevant errors (classified as “critical errors”). Methods: The tODA was developed and tested for feasibility of administration by professional driving evaluators. Two assessment routes were developed, an early and a late route, and administered to 28 teen permit holders at approximately 12 and 24 weeks into their permit holding period. Forty licensed adult drivers, two separate samples of 20 drivers, drove the routes to begin to establish a criterion standard for route performance; adult participants were required to meet safety and performance standards to be included in the analyses. Results: The tODA was implemented with fidelity by professional evaluators with teens and adults. Three teen participants (10.7%) had the early tODA terminated for safety concerns; one of these participants (3.5%) also had the late tODA terminated for safety concerns. In addition, two teen participants (7.1%) did not complete the highway module of the late tODA secondary to teen/parental request. No adults were terminated and none skipped the highway module. Conclusions: Preliminary data suggest that the tODA expands the repertoire of driving assessments by providing a means to safely and systematically assess drivers with varying levels of expertise in the context of practical evaluations of driver performance as well for research purposes.