Mika Hatakka

FROM CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE TO PERSONAL SELF-CONTROL; BROADENING THE PERSPECTIVES TO DRIVER EDUCATION

The objective is to formulate guidelines and goals for future development in the area of driver training and education. The content of this paper is not empirical, but merely an analytical summary or review. A four-level descriptive model is presented in which driver behaviour is conceptualised as a hierarchy, in which the goals and motives of the driver play an essential role. The recent constructivist ideas in mainstream pedagogy and psychology of learning are combined with a hierarchical approach to driver behaviour. A comprehensive framework for goals and contents of driver education (GDE framework) is presented. Two main conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, the conceptual analysis points towards a need to emphasise the motivational aspects in driver education more than it is done at present. Secondly, in order to reach the goals, pedagogical methods should be re-evaluated. For example, active learning methods and use of self-reflection should be promoted in driver education.

Does increased confidence among novice drivers imply a decrease in safety? The effects of skid training on slippery road accidents

Finnish driver training was renewed in 1990 with the inclusion of a compulsory skid training course in the curriculum. The study evaluated the renewals effect on accidents in slippery road conditions. A questionnaire was sent by mail to 41000 novice drivers who were randomly selected from the official register of driving licences. It included questions on driving exposure and the accidents the drivers had been involved in during 6-18 months following licensing. The rate of return was 74.7%. Half of the drivers had received their licence in 1989 and had, therefore, not received any skid training. The other half had received their licence in 1990 after the introduction of the skid training course. The results showed no effects of the renewal on slippery road accidents for either male or female drivers. Another questionnaire was sent to 1300 old and new curriculum drivers immediately after licensing and a second time 1/2-1 year later, both with questions about skills, worries and perceived risks regarding driving in slippery conditions. The new curriculum drivers showed higher confidence in their skills and they were less afraid to drive in slippery conditions than the old curriculum drivers. This increase in confidence as a result of skid training is discussed. It is argued that high confidence in ones personal skills does not necessarily imply negative safety. The crucial factor is how these skills are used, and for what purpose.

CONFLICTING GOALS OF SKID TRAINING

Efforts to make novice drivers drive more safely on slippery roads by means of special courses have mainly failed. In order to understand why the courses have failed, the views of instructors and students on the goals of skid training courses were compared. The importance given to anticipating vs manoeuvring skills was analysed. After completing a skid training course, students in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) assessed manoeuvring skills to be equally important to anticipating skills in the courses. However, instructors assessed anticipating skills to be more important than manoeuvring skills. The differences between the assessments of instructors and students were the same in all four countries. Manoeuvring exercises are widely used in the courses although the main purpose of these courses is to develop anticipating skills. The exercises may give students the impression that manoeuvring skills are more important than anticipating skills. Manoeuvring exercises also increase their self-confidence and may lead to underestimation of the risks involved, resulting in e.g. driving at higher speed.