Source: Brian Coon, 785-532-1573, bcoon@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Mary Rankin, 785-532-6715, mrankin@k-state.edu
Monday, September 17, 2007
K-STATE TRANSPORTATION CENTER PROVIDES TECHNOLOGY FOR USE IN DRIVER EDUCATION
MANHATTAN -- Driver education students at Manhattan High School's East Campus are getting help to improve their driving performance by participating in research designed to measure the effectiveness of driver education using driving simulators.
The study is being conducted by the Simulation Training and Assessment Research -- STAR -- Lab, part of the Kansas State University Transportation Center.
"We want to identify high-risk tendencies during the driver education program rather than later on the road," said Brad Wille, Manhattan High School driving instructor. "We can educate students to become safer drivers in a safe environment by tailoring driver education to each student as much as possible."
The simulator software, STISIM Drive, was developed by Systems Technology Inc. and donated to the University Transportation Center for its use in performing research at USD 383, the Manhattan-Ogden School District.
Renee Slick, associate director of the center, developed the Driver Behavior Assessment Tool to assess students' behavior. The tool is a computerized questionnaire that evaluates how students'personal attitudes and beliefs are related to involvement in vehicle crashes.
"Making good choices is the key to safe driving," Slick said. "Our work is focused on pre-identifying students who are more likely to make unsafe driving choices based on the 'self' they put behind the wheel. We can help those students recognize their own tendency to make unsafe choices while driving."
The University Transportation Center coordinates interdisciplinary transportation research, training and outreach efforts at K-State. More information on the center, a part of the department of civil engineering in the K-State College of Engineering, is available at http://transport.ksu.edu