Imagine for a second that you have lost a bet and have to appear on the TV show "Dancing with the Stars." To make things worse, the dance you have been given to learn is one that you have never danced before.
After the realization sets in that millions of people will be watching you (more than likely) make a fool of yourself, you frantically call up your professional dance partner and set up a time to get started practicing. When you arrive to your first lesson, your partner explains how you will go about preparing for, what feels like, your funeral.
First, your dance partner informs you that you’ll spend 30 hours in a classroom learning about dancing without actually doing any dancing. That means you'll listen to lectures, watch videos, and read about your upcoming dance routine, but you'll never get the opportunity to put your feet to the floor in a rhythmic motion. Then, you're told, after you complete the 30 hours of "coursework," you get only 6 hours hands-on practice dancing with your partner before you have to go in front of millions of people to perform.
How do you think you will do? If it were me, I’d ask if my dance attire could be made extra baggy in order to conceal the adult diapers I’d need to wear.
We've all had the experience of trying to learn a new skill. Whether it’s learning to dance an unfamiliar dance, shoot a basketball, knit or even type on a keyboard. And we can all probably agree that it takes much more than six hours of hands-on practice to become good at most skills (sorry, this means that your dance performance will probably go viral for all the wrong reasons). If we know that a few hours of practice isn’t enough to become good at a skill, then why do so many parent's leave the dangerous learning process of driving a car up to driver's education courses which typically consist of only 6 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction?
The bridge between knowledge and skill is practice..."
- Jim Bouchard (author)
Most of us, I believe, are familiar with the young driver problem in the United States. Sixteen-year-olds have the highest crash risk per mile driven of any age group, and the highest fatal crash rate per licensed driver.
One way, as a society, we have tried to deal with this problem is through driver education programs. It makes sense that instruction coming from professionals should be far superior to learning from family and friends. In fact, it is commonly assumed that graduates from driver education programs are much better drivers (some states even allow learners who have completed a driver’s education program to receive their license earlier than those who haven’t).
However, studies from all over the world have indicated that driver education does not produce safer drivers. Just look at the fact that driver education programs have been around for over 80 years, yet motor vehicle crashes are still the number 1 cause of injury and death amongst teenagers, taking an average of 3,000 young lives per year in the United States!
The reason why Driver's Education has been so unsuccessful in reducing beginners’ crash rates is because it gives learners only a small amount of practice in very limited conditions. Researchers believe that beginners should drive at least 1,000 to 1,500 miles (which, by the way, is a lot more than 6 hours of practice), in a variety of conditions and on all types of roadways, to experience a significant reduction in crash risk.
As a former private driving school owner and instructor, I can honestly tell you that
NONE of my students, even after completing my class, were ready to drive on their own. It was just impossible for me to expose them to the assortment of driving situations they needed to reduce their crash risk. For example, many of my students never experienced driving in snow because they took classes in July and August, or some of my students never drove in heavy traffic because they were only available to drive during the early afternoon. Additionally, my time with my students was very short (typically 6-10 hours of behind-the-wheel training) because the cost of a private driving instructor can add up quickly.
A promising approach to this problem is through improving parental involvement. Parents are much more available and accessible than any driving instructor could ever be. Parents can more easily take their teen out to experience different types of weather and traffic conditions. Plus, studies show that beginning drivers rarely crash when driving under supervision, so it’s makes sense that learners should encounter these situations with a more seasoned driver in the car with them, such as a parent, and not alone.
After reading this, you might think that I’m against drivers education, but that is far from the truth. I think it does a good job of what it was designed to accomplish - teaching basic car control skills and the rules of the road. But, what it doesn't do, and just can't do, is give learners the time and experience they need in a variety of conditions in order to become safe drivers. In other words, parents should be aware that they need to heavily supplement driver’s education because it is just the beginning, not the end of the learning process.
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