Conference Proceeding
Authors: Johnathan Eshani (Eunice Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD) , Bruce G Simmons-Morton (Eunice Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD) , Sheila G Klauer (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, VA)
The amount and type of driving instruction provided to novice teen drivers during the learner period may be associated with future crash risk. The purpose of this study was to (1) operationally define two types of driving instruction: functional and higher order instruction, and to (2) test these definitions in a sample of newly licensed novice teenage drivers during the first ten hours of supervised driving. Functional driving instruction was defined as instruction that relates to the present time or immediate future; and related to specific events that are occurring during the drive itself. Higher order driving instruction was instruction that could be extrapolated to a future driving situation; that conveys general principles of driving related to potential events that occur. These operational definitions were tested in conversation occurring during driving instruction in a sample of 90 teen drivers, recruited within three weeks of receiving their learner permit. Teen drivers’ vehicles were equipped with microphones; conversations were recorded and coded for each type of instruction that was observed. As expected, parents provided substantial driving-related instruction on a variety of topics. During the first ten hours of supervised driving only 17.5% of observed driving-related instructions was higher order. This test provides face validity of the operational definitions of driving instruction. These definitions may assist in quantifying the type and amount of driving instruction occurring during the supervised practice stage of licensure, and provide an empirical basis for evaluating the association between driving instruction and independent driving performance.
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How to Cite: Eshani, J. , Simmons-Morton, B. & Klauer, S. (2015) “Developing and Testing Operational Definitions for Functional and Higher Order Driving Instruction”, Driving Assessment Conference. 8(2015). doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/drivingassessment.1562