Automotive
| The poor driving habits of young drivers may be more about brain development than actual experience, according to new research. |
Learning to drive and getting a driving licence is a great achievement and is commonly seen as a rite of passage among young people. However, there’s no doubting the fact that young drivers face a whole host of issues while they build the confidence and experience they need to become better drivers.
According to the statistics presented in a BBC report, one in five drivers get involved in an auto accident during the first year upon getting their licence. Furthermore, the numbers show that an 18-year-old driver is more than three times more likely to crash than a driver 48 years of age. What causes this? Is it just a matter of inexperience?
Blame the brain
Science is on the side of young drivers commonly accused of driving recklessly. According to researchers from the University of Waikato in New Zealand, young people are more dangerous on the roads not because they’re inexperienced, but because their brains are not sufficiently developed yet. The part of the brain that controls decision-making, risk-taking, and emotion—the frontal lobe—does not fully mature until a person reaches 25 years of age. This may explain why young adults are more excitable, impulsive, and more prone to taking uncalculated risks resulting in accidents.| Related articles |
Dr Lisa Wundersitz of the Centre for Automotive Research has similar findings, stating that a young person’s prefrontal cortex is not fully developed. The prefrontal cortex is active when calculating risks and rewards, making complex decisions, weighing alternatives—it’s like the brain’s big boss, the CEO of all thinking processes.
The “immature” brains that young drivers have make it tough for novices (yes, even the smart ones!) to properly anticipate hazards, scan the road ahead, and ultimately assess the level of danger they are facing, which explains their risk-taking behaviour. Dr Wundersitz states that this behaviour is particularly prevalent in young males.
And then there’s technology
Mobile phones, tablets, entertainment screens, iPods, and other gadgets can also distract young drivers, especially those who are still quite inexperienced with being behind the wheel. Young drivers may feel the need to change their playlist while attempting to execute a manoeuvre. In more experienced drivers, this would be easy to do because the driving process has become natural for them, their experience buys them more time to take the decisions they need and react to what goes on in front of them.In short, young drivers may not have much good judgment, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be trained to become good drivers.
Like any other function of the brain (such as memorisation skills), hazard detection and reaction skills can be enhanced through constant practice. For instance, the more often young drivers look behind their shoulders to check their blind spot before changing lanes, the faster the move will become second nature to them. By the time the prefrontal cortex fully matures, these young drivers would have a solid foundation of good driving skils and accidents due to ‘brain immaturity’ will be a thing of the past.For young drivers the process of learning and remembering facts is natural – they do it with their studies all of the time. As a result young drivers who study hard for the driving theory test probably know the meaning of all the different road signs and markings better than their older counterparts and, thanks to free and easily available online tools, find it simple to supplement their knowledge should something unknown pop up.
| By Debbie Fletcher | Embed |
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