Teen Drivers' Skill Acquisition and Training

The Teen Driver Safety Research team at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute is working to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes involving teens behind the wheel. The following projects are currently underway:

•  Young Driver Research Initiative (YDRI)
  The Young Driver Research Initiative (YDRI) is a unique academic-industry alliance between The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia  Research Institute and State Farm Insurance Companies®. The complexity of the "teen driver problem" requires a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach that addresses not only concerns about driving, but also the parent-teen relationship, peer relationships among teens, and issues around adolescent, cognitive, and emotional development. Early years of this project focused on understanding the contribution of these factors in regard to teens’ driving behaviors. More recently, we have dedicated specific efforts toward understanding how to optimize the learning-to-drive experience of young drivers.
  
  For more information on this study, please contact Dennis Durbin, MD, MSCE at (215) 590-7331 or durbind@email.chop.edu.
  
  This project is funded by State Farm Insurance Companies.®
  
  

•  Evaluation of an Online Training Program Designed to Prevent Young Driver Crashes
  Can an online driver training program be effective in promoting the adoption of safe driving behaviors and in reducing crashes? The inherent danger of driving makes this question challenging to study on the road. To answer these questions, our research team is using its new, high-fidelity driving simulator to provide a realistic driving experience in which to study ways to prevent crashes. We hope to learn what improves and impairs safe driving performance and behavior under a wide variety of driving conditions. A series of studies is underway to develop and validate new simulator methods and then to put them to use in the evaluation of online training programs.
  
  Please contact Dana Bonfiglio for more study information at  bonfigliod@email.chop.edu ;(267) 426-7031.

     This project is funded by the  Pennsylvania State Department of Health. 

•  Increasing Tacit Knowledge of Driving Hazards, Risk Assessment, and Crash Mitigating Factors
  This project will design a web-based training program to improve driver safety by helping drivers understand hazards, more accurately assess their risk associated with hazards, and take the appropriate  actions in response to the presence of hazards. The training system is designed to be motivating, using video footage from a driving simulator to display realistic scenarios and interactive traffic events. The system requires trainees to respond to scenarios and provides immediate assessment and feedback on these responses. The feedback is customized to each trainee and includes suggestions for a more appropriate response to each of the scenarios, as well as useful tips.
  
  For more information on this study, please contact Yi-Ching Lee, PhD at (267) 426-5217 or LEEY1@email.chop.edu.
  
  This project is funded by the Army Research Institute, Department of Defense.