DRIVING WISDOM: Web-based Training for Young Adults to Improve Operator Judgments that Mitigate Crash Risk in Privately Owned Vehicles

Over 50% of accidental deaths in the Army during 2006 occurred in privately owned vehicles (POV) the most attributable to one source. As a result, the Army has been actively pursuing ways of reducing POV deaths and injuries among Soldiers. In the Phase I effort we designed an effective web-based training program to improve driver safety by training drivers to understand hazards, more accurately assess their risk associated with hazards, and take the appropriate actions in response to the presence of hazards. We have four primary goals for the Phase II effort. The first is to continue to develop the database of driving hazards, associated risk, and practical strategies, both as a way of developing the additional scenarios for the full prototype, and as a way of including less well-understood hazards such as tactical driving. Second, we intend to bring the demonstration prototype developed in Phase I to a complete prototype that is usable by the Army. The third goal is to provide some evaluation of the effectiveness of the training system. Finally, our fourth goal is to explore ways of extending the prototype and increasing the breadth of training.