Driver competency and knowledge over time

Do drivers lose knowledge about existing road and traffic rules over time? Do they also fail to learn about new road rules and traffic control devices (TCDs) and/or fail to adapt their driving behaviours to the changing road environment? Working together with Mackie Research, ViaStrada were commissioned by the AA Research Foundation to investigate how driver knowledge changes over time and how it could be reinforced as drivers move beyond initial licensing and adapt to evolving road environments and newer road rules, signs & markings.

The work involved a series of stages:

• A literature scan of readily available NZ and international published and grey literature in the field of driver training and education
• A review of key changes to NZ road rules and traffic control devices over the past few decades
• A driver knowledge survey of the general public asking questions about both historical and newer signs, markings, road rules, and traffic scenarios
• Two separate online workshops with subject matter experts and general road users, to gather feedback on the quality of driver knowledge in NZ and seek feedback on potential driver knowledge development/maintenance options identified 

The literature review found slight evidence that drivers lose comprehension over time, but very limited evidence on how well drivers adapt to new rules/TCDs. From the 
Driver Knowledge Survey, the number of years a licence had been held was not a strong determinant of knowledge about Road Rules and TCDs, although older rules/TCDs had more correct answers than newer ones.

A range of potential intervention measure options were identified, including educational programmes, communication campaigns, sign/marking design, and driver testing. While there are some options in NZ for building/refreshing core driving skills & knowledge, these are mostly targeted at either early licence or older drivers - there didn’t currently appear to be much knowledge refresher content available in the "post-learner" middle-life stage of driving.

The research findings can be viewed in both a detailed research report and a summary infographic.