ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to determine the applicability of several models of skill acquisition to expertise in driving. It is concerned with the control of dynamic processes. The criticism of Rasmussen’s model is that it emphasizes the static properties of representation, concerning intrinsic differences between different types of expertise rather than the dynamic transformations which are, in this author’s opinion, central to the acquisition of expertise. Two links with driver expertise merit consideration. The first may be discussed by reference to a hypothetical envelope which drivers deploy in front of, and to the sides of their vehicle’s projected path. The second link with driver expertise involves practice. The distinction between reactive and pro-active performance provides an interesting point of contact with the distinction between skills, rules and knowledge. If experts can translate their knowledge into the metric of the integration stage, they are in a position to activate a pro-active process given signals, signs or symbolic data.
