The Relation Between Executive Functioning And Risky Driving In Young Novice Drivers

Abstract

Young, novice drivers are overrepresented in car-crashes. This study aimed to investigate if the increased crash rates are related to immature executive functioning that characterizes adolescence. A total of 28 drivers, between 17 and 25 years, with no more than 12 months of driving experience participated in the experiment. Each participant completed a 25km-drive in a driving simulator. Measures of risky driving included: standard deviation of lateral lane position (SDLP), detection time of, reaction time to, and collisions with road hazards, speeding, yellow and red light running,and head distance. The executive functions inhibitory control and working memory (WM) were measured by means of a stop signal reaction time task (SSRT) and reverse digit span task, respectively. Correlation and regression analyses with inhibitory control, WM, and risky driving measures were conducted. In addition to a negative relationship for both executive functions with SDLP, there was a negative relationship between inhibitory control and the detection time of and crashes with road hazards. Lower executive functioning in young novice drivers thus seems related to increased risky driving behavior. Given the immature executive functioning that characterizes this age group this might at least partly explain higher involvement of this group in car crashes. Furthermore, identifying inhibitory control as one of the underlying mechanisms of hazard detection adds to the existing hazard perception literature, which already has identified visual attention as an underlying mechanism of hazard perception. As further discussed in the text, these results can guide future interventions, thereby extending existing training programs.