Transferability of hazard management skills to speed management and vice versa: a driving simulator study

• Speed feedback reduced young drivers’ speed management (SM) behaviour. • Commentary training improved hazard management (HM) skills. • No transfer of learning from SM training to HM skills, and vice versa. • Future research should examine integrated HM and SM training. Deficiencies in Hazard Management (HM) and Speed Management (SM) skills have been widely recognised as leading contributing factors to the high crash rate with young novice drivers. Although existing training programmes have shown to be effective in enhancing either HM or SM individually, the extent to which these skills transfer remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present research is to investigate if training interventions targeting one skill set, such as HM training, generalise to SM skills, and vice versa. Ninety young novice drivers were randomly assigned to one of five training conditions: Control, Implicit Training, Combined Feedback, HM Training, and HM Training with HM Feedback, and subsequently assessed on HM and SM performance across two post-training sessions (immediately after training and one-week post training) using a fixed-base driving simulator. The results revealed the benefit (significantly improved hazard mitigation) of ‘HM Training with HM Feedback’ for both concealed (i.e., Environmental Prediction) and divided focus (i.e., Divided Focus and Attention) hazards, but not hazards that were visible to participants (i.e., Behavioural Prediction), and this effect lasted up to one-week post training. In terms of SM, the ‘Combined Feedback’ group consistently showed improved SM skills (spent less time over the speed limit), and this effect was most evident in the lower speed zone of 50 km/h, as opposed to 80 km/h. This effect was also evident one-week post training. In terms of skills transfer, no skill generalisation occurred between HM and SM. These findings underscore the need for innovative training approaches that can simultaneously develop both critical competencies concurrently and enhance the overall safety of young drivers.