THE ABILITY OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL CHILDREN TO SENSE ONCOMING CAR VELOCITY
FORTY CHILDREN, AGED 5 TO 14, WERE ASKED TO CLASSIFY THE VELOCITY OF VEHICLES APPROACHING THEM ON A TWO-LANE RURAL ROAD IN A RESIDENTIAL SETTING AS SLOW, MEDIUM, OR FAST. DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS ARE DEFINITELY PRESENT. THE OLDER THE CHILD IS, THE MORE LIKELY HE IS TO MAKE CORRECT SLOW AND MEDIUM JUDGMENTS OF THE VEHICLE'S VELOCITY. HOWEVER, THE CORRECT JUDGMENTS OF FAST ARE INVERSELY RELATED TO AGE. THIS PUTS THE OLDER CHILD AT GREATER RISK. SEX IS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT VARIABLE. THE FEMALES IN THE SAMPLE WERE MUCH MORE CONSERVATIVE AND, THEREFORE, MUCH MORE LIKELY TO CORRECTLY CLASSIFY THE DANGEROUS FAST VEHICLES. BY CONTRAST, THE MALES IN THE SAMPLE MADE MORE CORRECT JUDGMENTS OVER THE WHOLE SPEED RANGE. RESULTS INDICATE CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCES ASSOCIATED WITH AGE AND SEX. VEHICLE-ASSOCIATED CHARACTERISTICS, SUCH AS SIZE AND NOISE, ARE ALSO SHOWN TO INFLUENCE THE VELOCITY JUDGMENT.
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Supplemental Notes:
- Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Pedestrians. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Authors:
- Salvatore, Santo
- Publication Date: 1973
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: pp 19-28
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Serial:
- Highway Research Record
- Issue Number: 436
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Adolescents; Age; Gender; Speed; Vehicle characteristics; Vehicles; Velocity
- Old TRIS Terms: Minors
- Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society; Vehicles and Equipment;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00224381
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Feb 12 1974 12:00AM