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LearningNCT00340561

Effect of Experience on Driving Performance in New Teenage Drivers

An observational study of Learning, run by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This study will evaluate the driving performance of new teenage drivers and determine to what extent independent driving experience improves driving performance of young drivers. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 7 to 55 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Learning
How many people
48 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Jan 2005to Jul 2006
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 7 to 55 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Recruitment of teen participants will occur by arrangement with local driving schools in Montgomery County, VA.
  • Potential participants aged 16 or 17 who have held their driver's license for one month or less may be eligible.
  • Participants may be recruited during their training, and will only be eligible after they have met all requirements for licensure, and after both parental consent and teen assent are obtained.
  • If the teen wishes to participate, they must have their parent or legal guardian speak to the VTTI experimenter over the telephone for screening and then accompany the teen at an appointment so that the study can be explained and consent and assent provided.
  • Experienced adult drivers will be recruited via one-page recruitment fliers describing the study posted in the Blacksburg, VA area.
  • After an appointment is made, a telephone screening will occur using the Telephone Driver Screening and Demographic Questionnaire to assess age, sex, medical and driving history.

Who cannot join

None listed.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

    Bethesda, Maryland, 20892

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Effects of Experience on the Driving Performance of Novice Teen Drivers

This study will evaluate the driving performance of new teenage drivers and determine to what extent independent driving experience improves driving performance of young drivers. Motor vehicle crash rates are highest among new teen drivers, especially during the first 6 months and 1,000 miles of independent licensed driving. Crash rates decline with experience, and this study will assess the effect of driving experience on performance.

Newly licensed teenagers ranging from 16 years, 3 months to 17 years of age and experienced drivers 30 to 50 years of age may be eligible for this study. Candidates must be able to legally drive in the commonwealth of Virginia and have at least 20/40 correctable vision.

Read more

Participants complete a questionnaire about their health and driving experience. They are then tested on a driving test track. Teens are tested within 3 weeks of obtaining their driver's license and before they have more than 100 miles of independent driving experience. They are tested a second time 6 to 12 months later and after they have more than 1,000 miles of driving experience. A group of experienced adult drivers are also tested to provide a comparison.

The driving test is conducted on a smart road - a controlled, 2.2-mile two-lane research track at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. It is designed for safety, with restricted access, nothing for a vehicle to hit, carefully placed guardrails, and other safety features. The research vehicle is equipped with airbags, anti-lock brakes, and other safety equipment. It also has sensors and tiny video cameras to assess the behavior of the vehicle and the driver; this equipment does not interfere with the operation of the vehicle.

An experimenter accompanies the driver and instructs him or her to perform routine driving skills, such as stopping, changing lanes and maintaining speed, as well as to other tasks such as inserting a CD into an entertainment console, having a conversation, and answering a cellular telephone call. The driver has an opportunity to practice the tasks before being tested.

The driver's speed is limited to 35 mph or less during the experiment and the driver is required to wear seat belts and follow safe driving procedures. The experimenter is in the front passenger seat can stop the vehicle using a separate brake pedal.

Read the detailed description

Motor vehicle crash rates are highest among novice teen drivers, especially during the first six months and 1000 miles of independent licensed driving. Crash rates decline with driving experience, however, no research has demonstrated learning effects on performance due to independent driving experience and the extent and variability in driving performance among novice young drivers has not been established. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of driving experience on driving performance. We propose to use standard measures of driving performance under controlled experimental conditions on a driving test-track and vehicle designed for this purpose. Specifically, we propose to test the driving performance of a sample of teens within a few weeks after licensure while they are still relatively inexperienced drivers and again after greater than 6 months and 1000 miles of driving experience test their driving performance. A sample of experience adult drivers would be tested in similar fashion to provide an additional comparison group.

Conditions
Learning
Keywords
Test Track, Distraction, Motor Vehicle, Learning, Inexperience

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Jun 2006 (estimated)
  2. Study startJan 2005
  3. Study completionJul 2006

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Enrolment
48 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00340561
Sponsor's protocol ID
999905070
Other IDs
05-CH-N070
Status last verified
Jul 2006
First submitted
19 Jun 2006
Last updated
4 Mar 2008
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Doherty ST, Andrey JC, MacGregor C. The situational risks of young drivers: the influence of passengers, time of day and day of week on accident rates. Accid Anal Prev. 1998 Jan;30(1):45-52. doi: 10.1016/s0001-4575(97)00060-2.

    PubMed 9542543

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Learning, run by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Mar 2008. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00340561, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Mar 2008.

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