On Trial

Standards for Driver Education in the USA

National Transportation Safety Board

NTSB Conference Center, Washington DC

October 28-29, 2022

Day One – Morning

Many reports show no evidence that Driver Education benefits young drivers in terms of any reduction in crashes or casualties. And Driver Education is not an adequate substitute for supervised, practical driving experience.

These were just two of the points made by the first speaker at the NTSB Public Forum on Driver Education and Training — Dr. Jim Nichols — who also quoted the late Professor Pat Waller of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, who said: “It is ridiculous to assume that thirty hours Driver Education is going to affect driver safety.”

But the argument wasn’t one-sided. Some later speakers at the Washington DC conference rallied around the educationalist flag.

The catalyst which brought about this event was a tragic accident ten months ago — January 2003 — in Montana, in which three young students and their 49-year-old Driver Education teacher all died when their car got into the path of an oncoming tractor/semi-trailer (a.k.a. an ‘articulated wagon’ in other countries). The car driver was just 14 years old.

“In Driver Education, we have made many big mistakes, and the biggest was to overstate our effectiveness,” said Dr. Allen Robinson, Director of the Highway Safety Center at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. “Early claims were fifty percent then ten percent reductions in teen fatalities, but both were ridiculous. No one factor can cause such reductions.”

The most significant benefit of Graduated Driver Licensing, he added, is that it has a combination of factors that work together to enhance the safety of young drivers.

Sean McLaurin of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was swiftly able to sober the mood of the forum by repeating one statistic that most delegates would already have known: From 1999 through 2002, almost 26,000 teenagers were killed on America’s roads.

“It is a tragedy,” said David Huff of Montana Driver Education, “that we are losing young soldiers in Iraq. But it is an even greater tragedy that we turn a blind eye to the [much larger] number of young people killed daily on our highways.

“Some school sports programs cost parents $900, and they willingly pay, but many parents complain to me because they had to pay $300 towards driving lessons!”

“If you ask teens why they are doing Driver Education, more than ninety percent will say: ‘So that I can get a driver’s license.’ Most of the rest will say,’ So I don’t crash Dad’s car.’ Almost none of them even consider safety.

“Two studies into Driver Education by the NHTSA were disappointing,” he continued, “and they led to the eventual end of the Agency’s use of ‘402’ funds to support the Driver Education program.”

But at this point, Mr. McLaurin raised the tremendous paradox and, indeed, the most significant frustration of the whole issue: “Some school sports programs cost parents $900, and they willingly pay, but many parents complain to me that they had to pay $300 towards driving lessons!” It would appear that many parents don’t recognize the futility of sporting skills — or music, or drama, or even academic prowess itself — if, for want of better training, their child is killed in a road accident. And tragically, this happens several thousand times a year.

McLaurin assured the delegates that driver Education is not going away, but ways to improve it must be found. “Would you let someone re-plumb your house if they only had thirty hours’ classroom and six hours’ practical training as a plumber?

“It is only after a kid has learned that the brake pedal is on the left, and the gas pedal is on the right, and how to stay off the sidewalk that they can start to absorb driving advice in any greater depth.”

In the subsequent ‘question and answer’ session, Mr. McLaurin was asked about standardizing driving tests in the USA, especially as some places give tests where the new driver does not have to go on a public road and merely has to drive around a parking lot.

“There are as many systems as there are states and even counties,” he responded. “It is needed, but in the current political climate, it will not happen. So we need it.”

International comparisons for driver training and testing were in order. First, First, Dr. Stefan Siegrist from the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention told us all that there is evidence of benefits from increased training under controlled circumstances and from introducing what he called ‘second phase training.’

“Two-phase training,” he told us, “is used in six European countries and gives excellent results in Finland.” After classroom and behind-the-wheel training, students take a written test and a driving test, after which they receive a provisional driver’s license. But they can only apply for a full driver’s license after further compulsory, theoretical, and practical training.

Dr. Siegrist told the delegates that driving tests in Europe are much more comprehensive and complex than those in the USA. Still, he added that this did not cause the improved safety results. Instead, it was the fact that the more complex tests forced instructors to do a much better job.

Dr. Siegrist said choosing the most appropriate outcome measure is essential from the public health perspective. And he added that the number of injuries and deaths per population and year is the most suitable method.

…one speaker’s surprising claim that “[America’s] fatality rate is much better than in any other country” was wildly inaccurate and is likely to induce apathy when the exact opposite response is urgently needed.

This comparative measuring system puts America’s casualty situation in perspective. The Brussels-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) administers the ‘International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD) for this reason. The Database shows relevant statistics from 28 OECD member countries. The USA is in an inferior 23rd place with a death rate of 15.2 per one-hundred-thousand people, compared with the best countries’ rates of around 6 per hundred-thousand.

Using the above comparative measurement, it is clear that one speaker’s surprising claim that “[America’s] fatality rate is much better than in any other country” was wildly inaccurate and is likely to induce apathy when the exact opposite response is urgently needed.

Day One – Afternoon

State Programs were the topic after lunch, and Elizabeth Weaver-Shepard was first up on behalf of the Idaho Department of Education.

“Idaho would like to see national standards for Driver Education,” she said early in her presentation. “Driver Education lessons have been pushed out of the school day, and so they start as soon as 6 am and run as late as 9 pm,” she added.

“Commercial driving schools [that provide Driver Education] follow no state requirements regarding curriculum and standards. Therefore, I believe [this should be regulated].”

Mrs. Weaver-Shepard presented a good case for Driver Education. Still, one point on which some delegates – the Writer included – disagreed with her was her belief that reductions in crashes or fatalities are not a valid criterion to judge the success or otherwise of Driver Ed.

David Huff commented early, “Successful Driver Education must address not only the needs of teenagers but also the lifelong teaching of parents – the role models.”

“Driver Education in the United States is deplorable!” he added, with evident feeling. “To overcome existing shortfalls, there must exist:

  • A clear definition of a model driver
  • A learner-centered curriculum
  • Standards and programs for teacher preparation
  • An aligned licensing process
  • Program standards for all programs
  • State oversight and management
  • Accountability, corrective measures, and consequences
  • Lifelong learning
  • Other education messages
  • Federal policy and fiscal support

“Much Driver Education [in the USA] today is based on archaic systems,” he said.

John Harvey of the Transportation Safety Division, Oregon (ODOT-TSD), was next up.

“We want the safest transportation system in the world – just like everyone else does,” he said at the outset.

“Ninety-three percent of crash causation is driver error… Ninety-two percent of Oregonians [when polled] stated that Driver Education should be available in all high schools…

“Since the introduction of Graduated Driver Licensing in Oregon, the death and injury rate for sixteen-year-old drivers has fallen by thirty-six percent.

“We need lifelong learning for a lifetime of risk management.”

The speaker on behalf of Vermont had been unavoidably delayed, but his presentation was made on his behalf and contained the following points:

— Vermont is unique in that it requires Driver Education to be available in all high schools and is free!

— Every Driver Education teacher has to be re-examined every seven years

— The downside is that the state still only pays $71 towards the costs for each student, the same as they used to pay in 1966! That was 86% of the cost in 1966 but only 21% of the current cost.

— Vermont’s fundamental commitment is making teens’ lives a greater priority than issuing driver’s licenses.

Day Two – Morning

ADTSEA’s current ‘Teacher of the Year,’ Debbie Cottonware, opened the batting and stated that road safety and driver safety should become an intrinsic part of primary education for K–12 schooling (i.e., Kindergarten through to 12th Grade).

“Our country went to war over ‘nine-eleven,’ but what are we doing about the almost seven thousand teenagers killed on our roads yearly?”

Later, she added comments on the attitude that causes so much of the problem: “Parents want mobility for their kids cheaply, easily, and fast… The private interest is mobility; the public interest is safety.”

Steve Cubelka, from Delaware, spoke next and added to Ms. Cottonware’s comments.

“My concern is the remarkable lack of hours ‘behind the wheel’ [that a student driver gets] with a qualified instructor before the test. This is typically 3-4½ hours compared with what, in other countries?” he said. “My allied concern is the apparent un-comprehensive driver training that Driver Education teachers receive, themselves.”

At this point in the forum, it could be said that two well-meaning and thoroughly honest students who spoke shot the proponents of Driver Education in the foot. Kayla Craddick, from Lubbock, Texas, came first, but among all her good comments about Driver Ed. she stated that she “learned more about [her] instructor and his funny stories than [she] did about driving.” And that she “had to learn basic things later that [she] should have been taught.” And “Some areas were covered too quickly. It was assumed that [she] already knew things.”

She delivered the coup de grâce when she said, “I didn’t even have to do all my required driving time.”

Miss Craddick, however, then turned her situation to advantage and gave a very though-provoking list of things that could be done to improve Driver Education from the point of view of a student driver:

  • More driving time should be required with parents or instructor
  • The D.E. teacher should let parents know what aspects their child is having difficulty with so that it may be practiced
  • Instruction should touch on related subjects such as road rage, the dangers of over-correcting, impaired weather driving, aspects of defensive driving, etc.
  • Students should be tested on actual situations.
  • Higher scores should be required for a test pass (She had commented earlier that the test was too easy.)
  • The age at which a license could be obtained should be raised
  • It should be made clear to students that driving is a privilege that can quickly be taken away
  • Instructors should be made more accountable
  • Students should be shown more videos and told more real-life stories (She added that “kids are more likely to listen to their peers than to adults, so kids’ own stories should be on videos.”)
  • Police officers should be asked to attend Driver Ed—classes to talk about driving laws, etc.

Brad Wells spoke next.

“When I was sixteen, I entered Driver’s Education to get my license. But that was all I was there for,” he said. “I had fun – it was a fun class. But, it won’t put you to sleep like math and English!”

He told the delegates that he didn’t like how the material was presented and that the textbook seemed outdated; it appeared “eighties.” And he added that the things given “seemed so easy for something so important.”

Mr. Wells was later asked how much time he had spent driving the car with his instructor. He replied, “After twenty hours in class, I did four hours [driving] with the instructor, but it was just driving around. I learned much more from my parents than I did from the instructor. I learned how to drive on freeways from my Dad. W drive into Salt Lake City a lot.”

He, too, commented on what he felt was needed:

  • More use of modern technology
  • More parental involvement (and parents must be made aware of their responsibility as role models)
  • Tighter enforcement of laws, otherwise kids hear lots of empty threats – they learn that there’s no disciplining

He also commented on driving from a teenage boy’s point of view:

  • Things aren’t the same when Mom and Dad aren’t watching (the stated implication being that rules swiftly go out of the window)
  • A young driver’s behavior changes depending on the type of passenger they have in the car
  • Many teens think they are immortal – “It’s never gonna happen to them; they [think they] are good drivers!”
  • Many parents don’t realize the impact they have as model drivers (over the kid’s lifetime, not just the last few months before the test)
  • Some teens don’t think that driving laws apply to them. They think they can get out of anything.

Tellingly, Mr. Wells finished his presentation with the comment: “As one of the things I’ve done, in the National Student Safety Program, we did a mock car crash. We even had a helicopter out there. But a lot of kids just laughed it off. They still spun donuts on the parking lot and sped down bus lanes.”

The eternal challenge faced by road safety educators worldwide has again come to the fore.

As hard as the upper echelons of ADTSEA are undoubtedly working to improve the effectiveness and image of Driver Education in the USA, it must have been aggravating for them to hear the shortcomings outlined by these two young people.

Dr. Alan Williams, Chief Scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, stated that courses such as skidding are becoming more popular. Yet, evidence worldwide shows they hurt safety, presumably by encouraging over-confidence. 

Dr. Gerald Donaldson, Senior Research Director, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, confirmed that advanced skills training for younger drivers leads to higher crash rates because of over-confidence.

The second session of the morning started with a presentation by Dr. Randy Thiel, current president of ADTSEA, who earned his Ph.D. in Traffic Safety from Texas A&M University.

He raised the topic of so-called advanced driving skills and asked what these should include and whether they should be offered to novices or held back until drivers had more experience.

[Writer’s comment: The phrase “advanced driving skills,” as used in America, can be seen as misleading internationally for two reasons. Firstly, advanced driving – as taught elsewhere – consists primarily of teaching a much higher level of anticipation, planning, and crisis avoidance rather than the crisis escape techniques, such as skid correction, that tend to be offered in the USA. Secondly, advanced driving, per se, is taught on public roads, not on private grounds such as race uses. Otherwise, the vital anticipation and planning factors are primarily lost.]

Two subsequent speakers addressed Dr. Thiel’s comments.  Dr. Alan Williams, Chief Scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, stated that courses such as skidding are becoming more popular. Yet, evidence worldwide shows they hurt safety, presumably by encouraging over-confidence. Dr. Gerald Donaldson, Senior Research Director, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, confirmed that advanced skills training g for younger drivers leads to higher crash rates because of over-confidence.

Mr. Keith Russell, the executive director of the Driving School Association of the Americas, was next to address the delegates. He stated there are problems with Driver Education in public and private school systems. He told us that twenty-three states have no Driver Education at all, and in some states that do, the standard is poor. He also addressed the point that road test standards vary significantly from one state to another.

The DSAA wants a national mandate for Driver Education. They also wish to see two-segment driver education – the first part focuses on maneuvers and compliance, and the second part on cognitive skills, risk recognition, and behavioral modification.

A national standard for road testing and a federal mandate for safer vehicles are also on the list of DSAA goals.

“It is important people understand that Driver Education is only a starting point from which to begin a lifetime of learning to drive.  This naturally ensures our independence and all of the freedoms we hold dear,” said Mr. Russell.

“We [also] need public service announcements, just like we used to have when we were kids. We need them around the clock. For example, we need to let people know how many are being killed and injured [in road crashes],” he added.

Mr. Wayne Tully, CEO of the National Driver Training Institute, said: “Driver Education and a test pass give parents and teen a false sense of security… The biggest mistake in the Driver Education industry is that you can teach a young person to drive safely with just six hours behind the wheel… Instead, student drivers should have at least fifty hours behind the wheel.

The drift of Tully’s general remarks was echoed by the next speaker, Frederick Mottola, executive director of the National Institute of Driver Behavior, who said that most drivers have all the manipulative skills necessary to drive a vehicle but that what they don’t have are the cognitive abilities.

Day Two – Afternoon

Troy Costales is the Transportation Safety Division Manager for Oregon and the Governors’ Highway Safety Association representative for the state. He got to the crux of the matter when he said: “I suggest to you that Graduated Driver Licensing is the last breath of life for Driver Education. If we don’t take advantage of it, we may lose it forever… The Governors’ Highway Safety Association firmly believes that the time is right to re-focus on Driver Education.

“Somebody, somewhere, has to be charged with the responsibility, at a national level…

“We must change the culture of what it is to be a teen driver in this nation. It is not a right of passage. It needs to be earned.”

Mr. Charles Butler, who has been with the American Automobile Associa ion since 1976, gave a detailed summary of AAA policy. It included many pertinent points, but the two most in line with the direction of this summary were:

  • To increase instruction, l focus on safer driving practices, and
  • To implement uniform instructor qualification standards

He also outlined some AAA research, giving the principal causes of young driver crashes:

  • 44% involve visual errors
  • 23% involve attention
  • 21% involve excess speed
  • 10% involve the poor judgment of space
  • 9% involve emergencies
  • 8% involve [a lack of] essential control

Dr. Alan Williams (mentioned above) was the next speaker, and his international knowledge of the subject was impressive.  He was followed by Mr. Chuck Hurley of the National Safety Council, who said: “…Graduated Licensing has proven effective are other methods have not.” And he added: “Ticketing and license sanctions are a good way of controlling [inappropriate] progression to a license.”

Mr. Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, said that, in the context of driver training, the USA was “faster, cheaper, but not necessarily better.” He gave a detailed insight into the role of the Foundation. He added that it evaluates a “good driver incentive” program administered by the CAA Alberta Motorists Association, which rewards young drivers with unblemished records using significant cuts in insurance premiums, according to https://floridainsurancequote.s.net/.

Dr. Gerald Donaldson (see above) of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety said that the organization is not against Driver Education but considers that up till now, the system has not been innovative. ‘One size does not fit all.’

The afternoon’s panel of speakers was then collectively asked their opinion regarding the safe t minimum age for driving.

“Eighteen, but politically it won’t happen,” replied Dr. Donaldson.

“The first few months are dangerous, whatever the age,” said Mr. Butler. But Chuck Hurley challenged this.

“No!” he said. “Higher is better. Sixteen would be my answer politically, but Graduated L censing is the answer. If we could raise the age to seventeen, we would save a lot of kids.”

Dr. Williams added: “In Europe [where the age limit is generally eighteen], they say that inexperience is the key. In the USA, we say that age is more important. So we have to work on both aspects.”

Following the forum, they were then asked what they individually hoped the NTSB would do. Their responses below are summarized comments, not verbatim quotes.

Troy Costales: ‘Publish a document and request swift responses from relevant bodies. Every wasted day equals ten more dead teenagers.’

Charles Butler: ‘Emphasize that road crashes are our biggest health threat.’

Alan Williams: ‘The NTSB must highlight scientifically proven ways that Driver Education can go.’

Chuck Hurley: ‘Promote Driver Education as a good component of Graduated Driver Licensing.’

Peter Kissinger: ‘Turn this event into a sustained process.’

Gerald Donaldson: ‘I agree with Chuck Hurley’s comments.’

“Parents don’t realize the major risk their kids are subject to. They think it’s drugs, but the most dangerous is cars – the number one killer.”

In the context of new, scientific, and st statistical data, the Writer felt that the closing session of the forum – ‘Current Research’ – was somewhat disappointing because there wasn’t much!  Dr. Jean Shope, however – Senior Research Scientist and Director of Social and Behavioral Analysis at the University of Mi in Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) – proved to be an excellent closing speaker.

A complete transcription of the entire forum, including Dr. Shope’s presentation, will eventually be made available via the NTSB website — the document you are now reading is only a summary from just one delegate’s perspective — but Dr. Shope made two comments which served well to summarize the whole event:

  • “America has a bias towards mobility that has obscured safety considerations,” and
  • “Parents don’t realize the major risk their kids are subject to. They think it’s drugs, but the most dangerous is cars – the number one killer.”

END

Every possible care has been taken, but if you were at the NTSB forum and found any errors in this summary, please contact us.

Drive and Stay Alive, however, remains acutely concerned that a severe error of fact was stated at the forum and now appears in the second paragraph on page number 34 (document page 37) of the official transcript, where Dr. Allen Robinson says:

The fatality rate of drivers in the United States is far better than any other country. But, unfortunately, sometimes, we don’t step back and look at our successes. So even though our fatality rate is much better than any other country, it’s not satisfactory to us.”

We have pondered long and hard whether to publish this excerpt from the official transcript, and we do so not as any form of attack on Dr. Robinson but to combat the dangerous and seemingly common misapprehension that America’s roads are the safest when in fact they are a very long way short of that status.

The most comprehensive tabulation of comparative, international road casualty data is to be found on the International Road Traffic and Accidents Database (IRTAD), and not only does it show that the USA lies in 24th position out of 30 countries for the per capita death rate, and in 10th position out of 24 countries for the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) death rate (2002 data), but in addition, a study of the historical data shows that America’s position in these results has remained relatively unchanged since at least 1988. Indeed, of the 24 countries for which advances can be measured over the period 1992-2001, the USA made little progress o, having a reduction in the overall per capita death toll of just 4 percent, compared to cuts of up to 39 percent in the “other countries” to which Dr. Robinson seemingly refers.

We are making these comments not to cause offense but to make the point that as long as the seemingly common yet entirely erroneous belief exists that America has the safest roads, the more likely it is that complacency will hurt public perception and political actions.