INVESTIGATING THE VIABILITY OF PERFORMING DRIVING EXAMINATIONS IN A SIMULATED ENVIRONMENT The effect of mere presence and evaluation apprehension on driving performance

Abstract

This report aims to give insights into how simulators could be used to assess driving competence. For simulators to constitute viable alternatives to on-road assessments it is necessary to understand all meaningful differences. One differentiating factor between conditions could be the social presence of a driving examiner. The first part of this study therefore aims to investigate presence and evaluation effects from the perspective of social facilitation and impairment. This was done by letting 41 participants drive through a short simulated city scenario using a relatively simple single screen simulator setup at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute. Using a between-groups design participants either drove alone or in the company of another non-observing individual (isolating the factor of mere social presence) and were told that their driving would or would not be assessed (isolating the factor of evaluation apprehension). To further investigate the viability of assessing certain tasks required for a Swedish class B driver's license using a simulator setup, perceived behavioral validity for tasks included in the simulated scenario were assessed by letting participants complete a two-part survey. The results indicated no significant effect of social facilitation and impairment on driving performance. Furthermore, the study indicates that performing and assessing certain elements of the Swedish class B driver test in a simulated environment are theoretically valid provided that the simulator is of sufficient fidelity. However more research is required before this can be considered practically viable.