Have further training and education with skilled truckdrivers any effect ?

During the period October 1991-October 1993 a one-day course of training and education with experienced, skilled truck drivers took place at the training camp "Gillingebanan" outside Stockholm, Sweden. The purpose of the training and education was to increase consciousness of the risks in traffic and thereby decreasing the rate of accidents. Earlier studies have shown that these effects of training and education are hard to reach. The evaluation started with a study of observation at the place of training and education. It was followed by pilot interviews. The main study consists of interviews with 97 truck drivers that 1-18 months earlier took part of the course "Professional Driving" and 72 truck drivers that had not taken part of the course. A further follow up consisted of interviews with truck drivers that had taken part of the course and had either been interviewed earlier or had not been interviewed earlier. The main study shows: (1) There are statistically significant differencies between truck drivers who attended the course and those who did not, in favour of the former, when it comes to recollect information from the day of the course; (2) Those who took part of the course more often report a more "gentle" or "soft" way of driving, keeping better distances to other vehicles for example than those who did not attend the course; (3) The groups of "educated" and "uneducated" truck drivers use safety belts with the same frequency; (4) There is a tendency, not statistically significant, that truck drivers who attended the course are more seldom involved in accidents than those who have not attented the course (self-reported); and (5) The truck drivers' main impressions from the course are very positive. Above all it is the "unexpected" situations that have had a distinct impact. The main theoretical perspectives in this study focus on factors that prevent and factors that facilitate new information and experience to process into new knowledge, new attitudes and changes of behaviour. To summarise the effect of this course for truck drivers, further training and education seem to have great potential effects, but many serious obstacles though prevent this training and education from achieving their full effect. The study has given an interesting view of the truck drivers' conditions in work, their possibilities to follow "better understanding" and their ways of reflecting upon their work and the information and experience that are the content of the course.