This report is the first of three reports in a program of research that examines driver education and training with a focus on how education and training interact with Graduated Driver Licensing systems, particularly Queensland’s. This first report describes approaches to driver education and training in jurisdictions that are similar to Queensland. Thus, the report includes a comprehensive literature review on driver education and training as well as summaries of the licensing process in other jurisdictions that are considered comparable to Queensland.
Young, newly licensed drivers experience the highest crash risk when compared with all other groups of drivers. Driver education and training is a countermeasure frequently suggested to reduce the crash risk of young novice drivers. Driver education and training is not an homogenous countermeasure. It includes a number of different types including supervised on-road driving experience, professional driving instruction, simulator training, resilience training, procedural skills training, hazard perception training, situation awareness training and insight training. Each type of education and training uses different methods to reduce the crash risk of novice drivers. Additionally, driver education and training is delivered at different places within the licensing process. It can be delivered pre-licence which is when a person is unable to drive a vehicle by themselves (in Queensland, this would be pre-learner or learner) or post-licence, which is education or training delivered after the person is able to drive by themselves (in Queensland, this would be provisional or open).
The Goals for Driver Education (GDE) framework outlines the components that need to be addressed within driver education programs. The GDE framework operates as a hierarchy ranging from basic operational vehicle driving skills to higher order skills. The layers of the hierarchy are: vehicle manoeuvring (operational), mastery of traffic situations (tactical), driving goals and context (strategic) and goals for life/skills for living.
Graduated driver licensing programs are implemented in many jurisdictions internationally. An essential feature of these systems is that they require novice drivers to learn to drive and obtain driving experience over an extended period of time. While there may be a number of mechanisms used to achieve this aim, some jurisdictions require learner drivers to obtain and record in a log book a fixed number of driving hours. In other jurisdictions, learner drivers may be able to move to the next stage of licensing earlier if they complete a formal driver education course.
Many learner drivers use both professional driving instructors and private supervisors when they learn to drive. There are advantages in both forms of education and training. Some pre-licence training programs are delivered in high schools. However, the research evidence for the effectiveness of this type of education and program is weak.
Simulator training is addressed more comprehensively in the second report in this program of research. However, while more high quality research is required, the use of simulators for driver education and training and PC-based hazard perception training and education does appear to show promise.
Resilience training, which involves reducing risky behaviours in young people, does address the higher levels of the GDE matrix. However, more research is required before strong conclusions can be drawn regarding the link between resilience training and crash outcomes. Resilience training may be a useful addition to more formal driver education and training programs.
There is limited research evidence to support procedural skills training for post-licence novice drivers. In contrast, there may be some benefits in providing situation awareness and hazard perception training to this group.
An evaluative assessment was made for each of the approaches reviewed within this document. This assessment relates to each of the education/training approaches and focussed on three aspects: 1) the effectiveness of the approach in reducing road crashes among the target group, based on the available evidence, 2) the strength of the available evidence, and 3) the scope of the training in terms of the extent to which each training and education approach addresses key aspects of the Goals for Driver Education (GDE) principles (see section 3.1 for greater detail of GDE). While the review of the literature clearly identified a large range of possible education and training initiatives, the research evidence does not identify one form of education and training as superior to all others in terms of road safety benefits. The role of the licensing system is also critical. The licensing system used within a jurisdiction has a strong influence on the likelihood that novice drivers will undertake a formal education and training program. Finally, an overview of the novice driver licensing approach used in Australian jurisdictions as well as in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States of America, and Canada is provided.