Stefan David A, Heikoop Daniël D, de Winter Joost C F, Houwing Sjoerd
Research & Development, Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen (CBR), Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 1;15(1):20948. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-04796-6.
To obtain a driver's licence, one must successfully complete a practical driving test and a theory test. Although the theory test is widely regarded as an important element of driving competence, little is known about the predictors of theory test performance, and in particular the extent to which the acquired knowledge is retained over the years. All individuals who passed a car theory test in the Netherlands between November 2019 and October 2023 were invited to complete a questionnaire, which included a retention test (i.e., a representative retake test) consisting of 20 items not used before. The results based on 50,857 respondents revealed that those with a lower level of education exhibited lower performance on the retention test. Moreover, respondents who took a course with an instructor, an approach mostly used by those with a lower level of education, had a relatively high likelihood of passing the official car theory test on the first attempt. It was also found that the extent to which knowledge increased or decreased over the years was item-dependent, a pattern possibly explained by whether the test item measures functionally relevant driving experiences or if it primarily assesses isolated rules. The results of this study are relevant for training institutes and policymakers.
要获得驾驶执照，必须成功通过实际驾驶考试和理论考试。尽管理论考试被广泛认为是驾驶能力的一个重要组成部分，但对于理论考试成绩的预测因素，尤其是所获得的知识在多年间的保留程度，人们知之甚少。所有在2019年11月至2023年10月期间在荷兰通过汽车理论考试的人都被邀请填写一份问卷，其中包括一个由20个以前未使用过的项目组成的保留测试（即代表性的补考测试）。基于50857名受访者的结果显示，受教育程度较低的人在保留测试中的表现较差。此外，参加由教练授课课程的受访者（这种方式大多为受教育程度较低的人所采用）首次通过官方汽车理论考试的可能性相对较高。研究还发现，多年来知识增加或减少的程度因项目而异，这种模式可能可以通过测试项目是衡量功能相关的驾驶经验还是主要评估孤立的规则来解释。这项研究的结果对培训机构和政策制定者具有参考价值。
