Emergency Braking in Adults versus Novice Teen Drivers: Response to Simulated Sudden Driving Events

Loeb, Helen S.; Kandadai, Venk; McDonald, Catherine C.; Winston, Flaura K. · 2015 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3141/2516-02

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Summary

This study investigates the emergency braking performance of novice teen drivers compared to experienced adult drivers, addressing the high crash risk associated with newly licensed teenagers. The research utilized a high-fidelity driving simulator to expose participants to a simulated "sudden car" event, where a vehicle surged from a hidden driveway, requiring immediate hard braking to avoid a collision. The study aimed to quantify differences in reaction time and braking adequacy between the two groups, as on-road testing of such dangerous scenarios is not feasible. The experimental design involved 21 novice teen drivers (ages 16–17, with less than 90 days of provisional licensure) and 17 experienced adult drivers (ages 25–50, with at least 5 years of licensure and no recent collisions). Participants completed a 30–35 minute simulated drive that included a specific emergency scenario: a car emerging from a driveway at 64 km/h when the participant was within 38 meters. Data collected at 60 Hz included brake pressure, vehicle kinematics, and video recordings. Key analytical variables included Post Encroachment Time (PET) to measure near-crash proximity, Time Headway at incursion, maximum brake pressure, and a novel metric called Braking Adequacy (BAB), which compares the driver’s actual deceleration to the minimum deceleration required to stop the vehicle given their speed and distance at the moment braking began. Results indicated that novice teens performed significantly worse than adults in this emergency scenario. While crash rates were similar (16% for teens vs. 13% for adults), the mean PET for teens was 0.40 seconds compared to 0.82 seconds for adults (p=0.04), indicating teens were closer to collision. After controlling for initial speed and distance via linear regression residuals, teens still underperformed relative to adults (mean residual -0.06s vs. +0.08s, p<0.01). Crucially, the analysis of braking quality revealed that teens applied significantly less force to the brake pedal. The mean maximum brake pressure for teens was 99 N, compared to 128 N for adults (p=0.04). More importantly, the mean Braking Adequacy for teens was 0.42, whereas for adults it was 0.83 (p<0.01). This finding demonstrates that novice teens decelerated on average 50% less than experienced adults when faced with the same emergency situation. The significance of these findings lies in the identification of inadequate braking pressure as a key factor in teen crash risk. The study suggests that the lack of experience in applying sufficient dynamic control over motor resources during emergencies is a critical deficiency in novice drivers. The development of the Braking Adequacy metric provides a standardized method for assessing the effectiveness of emergency responses in driving simulators, offering a tool for evaluating driver training programs and assessing the readiness of new drivers for real-world hazards.

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Topics

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• novice drivers
• braking response
• passenger effects

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data