Abstract
To understand why novice teenage drivers are overrepresented in fatal and injury crashes, a longitudinal simulator study examined the development of driver competence and hazard perception during the first six months post graduated licensure. The performance of 16 novice teenage drivers (M = 16.2 years of age) was compared to a group of 15 experienced adult drivers (M = 32.9) when a variety of maneuvers and hazards were encountered. Participants attended monthly simulator sessions over a period of six months. The results of the late yellow light event are presented. Drivers were either followed or not followed by another vehicle as they traveled through a number of intersections during the course of two experimental drives per session. The percentage of novice and experienced drivers who ran the late yellow light did not differ nor did approach speeds to the intersection, although several trends across sessions were consistent with increased novice driver risk taking or over-confidence. The presence of a following vehicle did not affect the decision to run the yellow light, but fewer novice drivers actively sampled the rearview mirror. Interestingly, novice drivers were significantly more likely to be caught in the intersection once the light turned red.