Hazard perception training in young bicyclists improves early detection of risk: A cluster-randomized controlled trial

Introduction: Since child bicyclists are more likely to get involved in a traffic crash, there is a stringent need to provide child bicyclists with tailored interventions in order to enhance their capabilities to deal with the complexity of traffic situations. The current study therefore aimed to test the effectiveness of a hazard anticipation training in young bicyclists by means of eye tracking technology. Methods: A cluster-randomized controlled design was used in which participating schools were randomly assigned to the intervention or the control group. At first, a baseline hazard anticipation test was carried out in the intervention group (78 children; 9.56 +/- 0.38 years of age) and the control group (46 children; 9.58 +/- 0.41 years of age). Child bicyclists who participated in the intervention followed the training that consisted of two classroom sessions. In each session children were presented with video clips from the perspective of a bicyclist encountering various (potentially) dangerous traffic situations. Following the intervention, a post-test directly after the training and a retention test three weeks later were completed. The control group received the intervention after the retention test. Results: Trained child bicyclists were found to detect more hazards and reacted quicker compared to the control group that did not receive the training. However, the training did not result in improvements in anticipatory visual search behaviour. Conclusion: Trained child bicyclists seemed to have developed a better processing regarding potential dangerous situations but were not able to 'see' the hazard sooner. The potential of a brief hazard anticipation training is discussed.