Do driver training programs reduce crashes and traffic violations? — A critical examination of the literature

Abstract

This paper reviews the evaluation literature on the effectiveness of classroom and behind-the-wheel driver training. The primary focus is on North America programs as originally taught in high schools but now also by private instructors. Studies from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Scandinavia are also included.By far the most rigorous study to date was the experimental study in DeKalb, Georgia, U.S.A. This study used a randomized design including a control group and a very large sample size to provide reasonable statistical precision. I reexamine the DeKalb data in detail and conclude that the study did show evidence of small short-term crash and violation reductions per licensed driver. However, when the accelerated licensure caused by the training is allowed to influence the crash and violation counts, there is evidence of a net increase in crashes.The other studies reviewed present a mixed picture but the better designed quasi-experimental evaluations usually showed no effects on crash rates but almost all suffer from inadequate sample size. I show that as many as 35,000 drivers would be required in a two group design to reliably detect a 10% reduction in crash rates.The advent of GDL laws in North America and other countries has largely remedied the concern over accelerated licensure of high risk teenage drivers by delaying the progress to full licensure. Conventional driver training programs in the U.S. (30h classroom and 6h on-the-road) probably reduce per licensed driver crash rates by as little as 5% over the first 6–12months of driving. The possibility of an effect closer to 0 cannot be dismissed.Some GDLs contain an incentive for applicants to complete an advanced driver training program in return for shortening the provisional period of the GDL. The results of Canadian studies indicate that any effects of the driver training component are not sufficient to offset the increase in accidents due to increased exposure.There is no evidence or reason to believe that merely lengthening the number of hours on the road will increase effectiveness. Programs directed toward attitude change and risk taking better address the underlying cause of the elevated crash risk of young drivers but these behaviors are notoriously resistant to modification in young people.