A review of Road Safety Education for the 16-18 year old age group was conducted to provide recommendations for future policy directions in Queensland Transport. The review examined current programs directed at 16-18 year olds, from both within and outside the department and canvassed research on both national and international road safety education programs. The results indicated a significant gap between current research and available options for young drivers. The research indicated that effective programs involve the integration of licensing, training and education initiatives. However, it would appear that for the most part road safety education initiatives occur in an isolated and unintegrated manner. Driving schools operate in isolation from school curricula which operate in isolation from community projects which operate in isolation from public education campaigns. Best Practice research findings tend to remain unknown amongst many stakeholders. Further, the limited resources available in regional areas restrict the range of services available to young rural people. The isolation between the stakeholders involved in delivering road safety education for young people would seem to be contrary to research which indicates that behaviour change (that is safer young drivers) is more likely when education is delivered through a multi-pronged, widely supported program. Consequently attempts are being made to integrate education initiatives with training options and licensing developments. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E202275.
Abstract