Situation awareness and hazard perception deficiencies of young novice drivers, particularly at night

Hazard perception performance of novice versus experienced drivers (n=63) was investigated during a PhD research program. Results are reported from thematic analysis of transcripts of participants’ commentaries on daytime and night-time road-traffic scenarios in suburban Adelaide. They commentated while being driven around a set route in normal traffic and whenever they detected hazards in each of 14 video clips. They also rated risk and difficulty throughout each clip. Novices (L- and P-platers) demonstrated poorer situation awareness, including lower awareness of hazards associated with poor visibility, particularly in night-time scenarios. Implications for development of improved driver training programs are identified.