Gap-acceptance and risk-taking by young and mature drivers, both sober and alcohol-intoxicated, in a simulated driving task

The decision to engage in risky driving is not always conscious and is often inadvertently the result of faulty choices of timing and speed, particularly with the young driver population (aged 17-21). This study thus aimed to examine the capacity of drivers to detect hazards, estimate the time-to-collision of approaching vehicles, to perform complex overtaking manoeuvres in a simulated driving task, and to establish whether these abilities differed between young and mature drivers, in both sober and alcohol-intoxicated conditions.