Simulator-based driving test prescreening as a complement to driver testing - Toward safer and more risk-aware drivers.

Young people represent a high-risk group of drivers and the prevalence of road traffic crashes among young drivers is high. Thus, to increase traffic safety, it is essential to ensure that new drivers are both sufficiently educated in and assessed for risk awareness. The aim of this study was to examine the possibility and potential benefit of using a driving simulator screening test as a complement to the existing on-road driving test. The main idea is to detect drivers who are not ready to proceed to the driving test. A comparative study was performed with participants who passed and failed a simulator test and an on-road driving test, respectively. A comparison between subjective and objective measures of performance and risk was also included. A driving simulator was placed at a traffic school and customers were recruited as participants. In total, 70 participants took part in the study and the simulated drive consisted of rural roads, urban traffic, and motorways with 16 different scenarios, constructed from the second level of the GDE matrix, to examine driving behavior, attention, and risk perception. The results show that with a screening test in a driving simulator, it is possible to detect drivers who consider themselves ready to take a driving test, but who have not yet reached the level of risk awareness required to be a safe driver. Test scenarios should be suited to detect deficiencies in risk awareness, test different levels of the GDE matrix and, to complement the driving test, be difficult to assess in an on-road driving test. Deficiencies in self-evaluation that are well-known among young drivers are again confirmed. To practice self-evaluation, the driving simulator is suggested as a pedagogical tool, linked to the GDE matrix.