Improving the efficiency of driver training with account for infrastructure characteristics of large cities

Abstract

Improving traffic safety by means of the development of effective driving skills in students of training centers is nowadays an important task for large cities. Lessons with test routes characterized by complicated traffic conditions wear students down and, therefore, lead to an increased number of driving mistakes and road traffic offenses that contribute to dangerous situations and emergencies with the training vehicles involved. Correspondence between the complexity of the road conditions and the level of student’s expertise is one of the significant components of traffic safety assurance. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the infrastructure characteristics of the street and road network that define the characteristics of the test route. The purpose of the study is to examine the development of driving skills on a test route whose complexity corresponds to the level of expertise of the driver training school’s students. The authors have assumed that factor models of driving skills have certain gender differences. 22 females and 20 males aged 18–21 participated in an empirical study. The students were trained in the road conditions that corresponded to the level of their expertise, which was determined by means of an expert assessment. The following were the indicators of the test route complexity: velocity at a route section, traffic volume, and average level of driving challenges. The hypothesis of a difference in skills in males and females has been proved by means of factor analysis. Males have a more complex combination of driving skills distributed over six factors. The structure of indicators in females has a more limited model. Interaction with other road users is the first factor in both groups. Presumably, the differences in the factor structure of driving skills are due to the gender stereotypes of road users.