Does Virtual Reality Driving Simulation Training Transfer to On-Road Driving in Novice Drivers? A Pilot Study

This article describes a pilot study undertaken to investigate whether training of novice drivers on a high fidelity virtual reality simulator transfers to on-road driving performance in a randomized, blinded, controlled study. Participants (n = 20) were recruited after they had passed their driver education test and had received their learners permit. The article describes the study, including the on-road driver training and evaluation process, the driving simulation scenarios used, the protocol used to minimize Simulation Adaptation Syndrome (SAS), the Virtual Reality Driver Training (VRDT) procedure used, and the results of the pilot study. The authors found that participants receiving VRDT performed significantly better on all variables under study while driving on the road. The authors briefly discuss some study limitations, including issues with the rearview mirrors depicted in the driving simulation. They note that one of the benefits of virtual reality is the opportunity to master one driving skill at a time, and then combine that skills with other skills in an additive manner. One table summarizes the participants’ characteristics, rating , and performance with group means for individual driving parameters and for six cluster variables.