The effectiveness of driver training as a road safety measure : an international review of the literature

There is continuing public and media debate in Australia and overseas about the worth of driver training for car drivers as a means of improving driver behaviour and reducing road crash involvement. In view of this there is a need for road safety professionals, and the public at large, to be well informed about the merits and effectiveness of such training as a crash countermeasure. This paper summarises an extensive review of the international literature on the effectiveness of driver training programs for learner drivers, young/recently licensed drivers and experienced drivers produced for the RACV Public Policy Group in mid 2001. Overall, the paper concludes that driver training could not be considered an effective crash countermeasure. Other approaches such as increased supervision and graduated licensing for novice drivers and traffic law enforcement for all drivers are likely to make greater and more lasting contributions to road safety. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E206143.