ABSTRACT
While changes in road policies and vehicle technologies, for example, can differentially impact drivers, it could be argued that those who have only recently commenced driving are more vulnerable to unintended impacts of those changes, that is, behavioural adaptation. While this can include adaptation with positive outcomes, potentially negative outcomes are of particular concern regarding novices as their likelihood of experiencing a crash is already high relative to that of older, more experienced drivers. Novice drivers, by definition, are inexperienced and therefore yet to develop certain abilities, habits or an in-depth understanding of safety that are typically gained with increased independent driving experience in ‘real world’ conditions. Many novice drivers are also young and therefore at a stage in development associated with experimentation, including risk taking.
