Learner drivers will have the chance to participate in a simulated driving experience in USC's high-tech Immerse laboratory on the weekend of 9-10 May.

USC accident researcher Dr Bridie Scott-Parker, who is exploring the hazard perception skills of young drivers and their parents, said the innovative study needed participants who could spare an hour on either Saturday or Sunday to come to the Sippy Downs campus.

Participation would involve a simulated driving test and completion of a survey.

“We are looking for Learners with less than 15 hours of driving experience – and one of their parents – to participate,” she said.

Dr Scott-Parker said young Queensland drivers progressing through the graduated driver licensing (GDL) program started with a Learner’s licence which required 100 hours of supervised practice, with parents the most common driving supervisor.

“It can take years for young drivers to fully develop a range of safe driving skills, but we can use the Immerse lab to study these skills in a simulated environment in which the driving scene is projected across three whole walls in one room,” she said.

Testing times are available between 8am and 5pm on Saturday 9 May and Sunday 10 May.

“Everyone who participates, young drivers and their parent, will receive a $40 Coles/Myer gift voucher to thank you for your time, and car parking is free at the University on the weekend,” she said.

“Immerse is a large, air-conditioned room but the study might not suit people who get motion sickness in simulated or real environments, such as on boats or planes.”

To find out more, contact Dr Bridie Scott-Parker at bscottpa@usc.edu.au. Dr Scott-Parker is Leader of the Adolescent Risk Research Unit at USC.

— Julie Schomberg