Abstract
:Background:There is a vast amount of literature on the effects of driver education. However, the evidence has become somewhat fragmented, making it challenging to understand driver education's effec-tiveness for improving road safety. The current study aimed to provide the efficacy of pre-LDE and post-LDE interventions aimed at improving the safety of drivers (includes crashes, injuries, or secondary outcomes). Methods:The following online databases were searched up to the 21st of February 2020: Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane library, and other relevant databases. Systematic reviews (SR) and meta-analyses were selected to investigate the efficacy of driving education in reducing crashes, injuries, or secondary outcomes. Two investigators independently conducted the data extraction and used the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR) tool to conduct a quality assessment of each SR identified.Results:Out of the 229 potential articles, seven SRs were eligible for the current overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. This overview showed that pre-and post-license education by people of all ages led to improvements in secondary outcomes, such as performance, self-perceived driving abilities, behind-the-wheel driving performance, and even a small decrease in traffic offenses. However, education was not effective in reducing crashes or injuries, either at the individual or community level.Conclusions:There was no evidence that driver education is an effective approach to reducing crashes or injuries. This negative result might be due to ineffective teaching methods. To improve road safety, it appears necessary to change the method or content of driving education since the current approaches to driving education do not reduce traffic crashes or injuries.
Highlights
MethodsSearch Strategy and Inclusion Criteria The methodology of this study is based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) checklist
Driver education is a popular approach for improving road safety,[44] but our study indicates that driver education has not been effective in achieving its main outcome, which is reducing crashes, injuries, and deaths
This negative finding may be due to the use of ineffective teaching methods, ineffective course content, failure to understand the needs of adult learners, or not targeting the correct risky driving behaviors
Summary
Search Strategy and Inclusion Criteria The methodology of this study is based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) checklist. SR studies were included that met the following criteria: studies were systematic reviews with or without a meta-analysis that covered the effect of driver education [included pre-license driver education (professional driving instruction, school-based driver education, and simulator training) and post-license driver education (novice drivers education, remedial driver education, advanced driver education, and driver improvement)] on road traffic outcomes [(crash and injury) and secondary outcomes (driving performance or driving awareness or driving behavior and knowledge)]. The assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR) tool was used to assess all systematic reviews' methodological quality.[16] This checklist assessed the quality of the SRs according to the following items: ‘a priori’ design provided; duplicate study selection/data extraction; comprehensive literature search; status of publication (i.e., grey or unpublished literature); list of studies included/excluded provided; characteristics of included studies documented; scientific quality assessed and documented; appropriate formulation of conclusions (based on methodological rigor and scientific quality of the studies); appropriate methods of combining studies (homogeneity test, effect model used, and sensitivity analysis); assessment of publication bias (graphic and/or statistical test); and conflict of interest statement
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