The literature shows that the quality of driver training and driving tests does not affect the road safety of young drivers (SWOV fact sheet Driver training and driving tests). Additional training or adding an extra phase to the graduated licence may improve driver training or driving tests.
Additional training
Additional training following licence acquisition may affect the road safety of young drivers if it addresses higher-order skills and social factors that are relevant to their high crash risk. Examples are hazard perception training and training courses to enhance traffic insight and self-awareness. Moreover, young drivers may benefit from general training courses about risk behaviour and ways to increase resilience. SWOV fact sheet Driver training and driving tests addresses these issues in more detail.
Graduated driver licensing
At the moment, the Netherlands have implemented two phases of graduated driver licencing (see SWOV-fact sheet Driver training and driving tests):
- a learner phase (accompanied driving: 2toDrive) in which novice drivers are supervised to gain experience in driving after initial qualification;
- a provisional licence in which the novice driver can drive independently, governed by strict rules.
The introduction of an intermediate phase during which young road users are only allowed to drive in relatively safe conditions (for example no alcohol or no young passengers) could result in a reduction of risk for young drivers [52]. This allows novice drivers more time to practice and to gain experience with situations that are not a priori risk-increasing. Safety effects of graduated licencing are mainly due to a delay in exposure to dangerous driving circumstances and to accompanied driving; there are less strong indications that graduated licencing will improve young people’s driving skills [53] [54]. There are, however, indications [55] that active parent involvement in the phases of graduated licencing will reduce crash risk for young drivers.
Modular driver training
Modular training is often mentioned as a method to improve Dutch driver training. However, in the Netherlands, teaching methods may not be imposed on driving schools. The ‘Driver Training in Steps’ (In Dutch: De Rijopleiding In Stappen (RIS)) and its successor ‘Tailored Driver Training’ (In Dutch: De Rijopleiding Op Maat (ROM)) take a modular approach to teaching candidates to drive. RIS consists of four modules in an ascending order of difficulty (for more information, see rijbewijs.nl). An initial study shows that ROM had a positive effect on driving behaviour half a year after licence acquisition [56]. Yet, no solid conclusions may be drawn, since the study did not make use of random selection. Further research into the effectiveness of modular driver training in reducing crash risk for young drivers is needed, since modular training is not only known for the speed with which skills are acquired but also for reduced retention of these skills and the insufficient application of the skills in new situations [57]. Moreover, scientific research shows that the quality of the driver training does not affect the road safety of young drivers, since driver training teaches basic skills that are a prerequisite for safe traffic participation, but hardly affects the factors that increase crash risk for young drivers (see SWOV fact sheet Driver training and driving tests).
