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Source:
Renee Slick, 785-532-0613, rslick@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Michelle Hall, 785-532-6415
Editor's
note: Photos of the simulator are available by contacting media
relations at media@k-state.edu,
or 785-532-6415
Thursday,
February 24, 2005
K-STATE
PROFESSOR RESEARCHING WHETHER SIMULATORS HELP YOUNG TEENAGERS BECOME
BETTER DRIVERS
MANHATTAN
-- A research initiative at Kansas State University aims to make
teenage drivers safer when they take to the road.
Researchers
at the university are studying whether using driving simulators
helps young teenagers become better drivers.
The
STAR, or Simulation, Training and Assessment Research Lab at K-State
is part of an initiative by Drive Safety, an organization that creates
driving simulators and researches their effectiveness in industry
and academic settings. Drive Safety sponsors the lab, which is directed
by Renee Slick, assistant professor of psychology at K-State.
"Our
mission at Drive Safety is reducing deaths and injuries among teenage
drivers," said president and CEO Bill Woahn. "Research,
like that at K-State, helps us make our simulators that much better."
Slick
said the two main purposes of the lab are to work with teen drivers
to assess the training effectiveness of simulators and to study
whether such training transfers to real-life driving situations.
"Teen
driver safety is a critical issue because automobile crashes are
the leading case of death for our nation's youth," she said.
James
Guikema, associate vice provost for graduate research and associate
dean of the graduate school, said the STAR Lab gives K-State a unique
opportunity to be a leader in a field of research that is not only
important but can also save lives.
"Our
young people are our future," he said.
Researchers
at the lab began studies with the Manhattan-Ogden School District
in summer 2004, and have initiated training with a Utah school district
this winter. In addition, Manhattan High School students will again
participate in testing this semester.
"This
summer we identified a lot of 'what works' and 'what doesn't work'
in terms of teen driver training," Slick said. "We're
now publishing papers and creating scenarios to train other high
schoolers. The Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 kids are really instrumental
to the project and the district has been extremely supportive of
our research."
Training
teenagers to avoid dangerous driving situations is important, but
it is not practical to put them into dangerous situations on the
road and try to teach them how to react, Slick said.
"The
major advantage of simulation is that it gives teen drivers a chance
to practice and build experience without placing them in danger,"
she said. "As such, there is a real synergy in pairing advanced
driver training through simulation with traditional driver's education."
STAR
Lab is working with the schools in Utah and Kansas to study the
effect of combining traditional driver's education with modern curriculum
and technology. The next phase of the research with the Manhattan-Ogden
School District will look at understanding the difference between
real-world and simulator driving, Slick said. For this study, researchers
will hook the student drivers up to monitors while using the simulators
and while driving in "real life."
The
STAR Lab simulator is actually the front half of a real car and
focuses on the physical fidelity of what's its like to be in a vehicle
-- the CD player and the shifter all work, for example. Screens
surround the car, and onto them are projected virtual worlds with
images of roads, buildings, pedestrians and other cars. The simulator
can switch from daytime to nighttime and from sunny to snowy conditions,
for example. Although the researchers control the environment, the
student driver controls every move of the car.
Ten
K-State psychology students aid in Slick's research with the STAR
Lab. Slick and students will present six papers on their research
at two upcoming national conferences and one international conference.
SIDEBAR:
Thursday,
February 24, 2005
Sidebar:
K-STATE RESEARCHER'S WORK NOT JUST FOR ACADEMIC REASONS -- IT'S
ALSO PERSONAL
MANHATTAN
-- Renee Slick, assistant professor of psychology at Kansas State
University, is researching creating simulators to help young drivers
learn to handle difficult and potentially dangerous situations through
the STAR Lab.
But
Slick's interest in driver safety training isn't just academic --
it's also personal. Her father was the victim of a hit-and-run automobile
accident. Slick said she wanted to make a difference after this
tragedy.
"I
tried to make a difference on an individual level," she said.
"And when those efforts failed, I decided to take action by
involving the research community and industry as well."
She
said her line of research is dedicated to her father's memory, as
well as to her sons, who will be of driving age soon, and to all
teenagers who will soon be taking to the roads.
The
main focus of the STAR Lab's training and assessment, Slick said,
is to reduce crash involvement and save lives.
"The
goal is to reduce accidents, fatalities and injuries," she
said. "The goal is to make a big difference.
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