The high accident involvement among young novice drivers is partly an effect of lack of knowledge, insight, risk awareness and experience and partly an effect of age-related factors such as lifestyle, peer groups, socialisation process and maturity. The acquisition of much experience is a crucial ingredient in driver education and training. In order to be a safe driver, it is not enough to be able to control the vehicle well and in accordance with the traffic rules. A safe driver must also be able to plan the trip safely with regard to mode of transport, with whom, route choice, etc. It is crucial to be able to decide when to avoid driving, such as under the influence of alcohol, other drugs or fatigue. It is also important to have a realistic assessment of own ability to control the vehicle, to drive in traffic and to be aware of what motives and preferences govern own behaviour and own choices. The knowledge about where risks in traffic may occur is crucial and how they are avoided through large safety margins and well developed hazard perception. All these aspects are covered in the “GDE-framework” – Goals for Driver Education (Engström et al 2003). The framework was published internationally for the first time by Hatakka, Keskkinen, Gregersen, Glad & Hernetkoski 2002. The GDE-framework has been widely acknowledged within the European traffic research community as a fruitful theoretical starting point when developing traffic education. Based on literature analysis (Tynjälä 2002; Peräaho et al, 2003; Luukkainen 2004; OECD 2006) including the latest EU-projects (Siegrist, S. (Ed.) GADGET 1999; Bartl et al, DAN 2000; Advanced 2002; Bartl et al, ANDREA 2002; NovEV 2004; BASIC 2005; Bartl et al, MERIT 2005; SUPREME 2006; HERMES 2007), we can claim that we have a theoretical understanding of what an “ideal” traffic training programme should be like. But at the present, there is little evidence of clear safety benefits resulting from formal pre-licence training. Therefore I have chosen to examine the subject of my thesis by observing GDE-framework based instruction to the development of road safety oriented attitudes. Following is an introduction of research and activities related to the research during the previous year. (Author/publisher) This publication may be accessed by Internet users at: http://www.ictct.org/workshop.php?workshop_nr=25
Samenvatting