Feasibility Study on Evaluating Driver Education Curriculum

Williams, Allan F.; Preusser, David F.; Ledingham, Katherine A; Preusser Research Group · 2009 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.21949/1525662

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Summary

This 2009 feasibility study, conducted by the Preusser Research Group for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), addresses the persistent question of whether driver education effectively reduces crash rates among young drivers. Despite widespread public belief that formal instruction produces safer drivers, scientific evaluations have historically failed to support this assumption. The study was motivated by the need to determine the feasibility of evaluating a new curriculum developed by the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association (ADTSEA), which recommends 45 hours of classroom instruction and 8 hours of behind-the-wheel training, along with a parent involvement component. The authors conducted a comprehensive review of historical and contemporary research on driver education, with a specific focus on research design issues. A central case study was the seminal DeKalb experiment in Georgia, a large-scale, randomized controlled trial involving over 16,000 students. This study compared a state-of-the-art "Safe Performance Curriculum" (SPC) and a minimal "Pre-Driver Licensing Curriculum" (PDL) against a control group. The review also examined post-DeKalb studies utilizing various designs, including random assignment, statistical matching, and quasi-experimental comparisons across different jurisdictions. The authors analyzed these studies to identify methodological strengths and weaknesses, particularly regarding volunteer bias and the confounding effect of early licensure. The findings indicate that driver education generally does not produce safer drivers and may even increase crash risk. The DeKalb study, despite its rigorous random assignment and substantial resources, showed minimal or negative effects on crash rates when analyzed by assigned groups. While crash rates per licensed driver appeared lower for trained groups in the first six months, this metric was invalidated by self-selection bias, as driver education accelerated the time to licensure, thereby increasing exposure to driving risks. Post-DeKalb studies consistently replicated these results, finding no significant safety benefits. The authors attribute this failure to the short duration of courses, which focus on basic vehicle handling rather than safety attitudes, and the fact that training often encourages earlier licensing, offsetting any skill gains with increased exposure. The study concludes that a comprehensive evaluation of the new ADTSEA program is currently not feasible because the curriculum has been introduced only in a piecemeal fashion, lacking the systematic implementation required for scientific study. To conduct a valid evaluation, the program would need to be introduced uniformly in schools or communities, necessitating either a costly randomized assignment study or a complex quasi-experimental design. The authors warn that any future evaluation must account for the likelihood of zero or adverse effects due to accelerated licensure. Consequently, they suggest that steps to mitigate early licensing effects are essential before proceeding with a high-cost, large-sample evaluation of the ADTSEA curriculum.

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Topics

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• driver education effectiveness
• regulatory evaluation
• older driver retraining

Information type

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes