Not only are driving schools failing to improve driver safety but the programs they deliver are actually increasing the rate of motor vehicle collisions, according to a recent Auditor General's report to the department of transportation.

Of course, the government denies it, and irresponsibly ignores the findings, saying that the statistics can be misinterpreted.

Nevertheless, the general public isn't, on average, interested either in any measure that would restrict, or make more difficult, the ability of the average person (and voter) to acquire the freedom, privilege and status of motor vehicle operation. And in their pursuit of freedom they are crashing their trucks and cars. 

Here's what the department of transportation had to say:

Of course, the department of transportation thanked the Auditor General for congratulating the department of transportation, which is a political strategy to confuse the fact that they were being roundly criticized, not complimented. And of course, nothing has been done about the criticisms, certainly not "swiftly," and at least nothing substantial, like redesigning the driver training regulation and industry from the ground up in conjunction with departments of education, auto insurers and experienced instructors. Their concern seems to be the "wait time" of the road tests, esuring that people get their licenses as quickly as possible, so they can buy cars and buy gasoline, all of which is taxed, as quickly as possible.

The result is higher insurance rates equal to higher rates of collision, injury, death and damage. Although never prohibited, personal freedoms must never overrule public safety, and this is where the government department of transportation has failed.

Although driver education is not mandatory, students who voluntarily complete a driver education hit the roads more overconfident and underqualified than those who don't, as a result of inadequate and improper driver training methods and regulation, which once again goes to prove the theory that you cannot leave it to the free market to set safety standards. Unfortunately, it is governments that regulate the driver licensing and training programs, not the driving schools.

The extent of the problem

Here are a few links to help evidence the following reports and commentaries

• A recent Auditor General�s report, which states that drivers who have taken a driver education program actually have a higher rate of collision.

http://www.auditor.on.ca/en/reports_en/en07/en_2007AR.pdf

• The McDermid report, which, among other things, recommends that interested parties "undertake a thorough review of current driver education and driver examinations in the province."

http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/Content/docType48/Production/savinglives.pdf

• AMA report, which states that the rate of motor vehicle collisions should be labeled epidemic, with dozens of motor vehicle deaths every day in the United States:

http://www.ama.ab.ca/images/images_pdf/traffic_progress_reportS04_3F.pdf

• US crash statistics, which state approximately 11 car crashes every 60 seconds:

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/TSF2007FE.PDF

• Canadian crash statistics, because car accidents are the same everywhere around the world; violation of the rules. A stop sign is a stop sign, a speed limit is a speed limit, the right of way is the right of way, whether the right of way goes to the car on the right or the farm animal in the middle.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/tp/tp3322/2005/page1.htm

Here is an important quote from the AMA, to understand the situation:

�Every few minutes [in the region] someone crashes a vehicle. By the end of an average day, about 80 people will be injured, more than 400 vehicles will be damaged and at least one person will be dead. Each year, hundreds of people die and thousands are injured in crashes. Unlike other epidemics that tend to claim the sick or the old, traffic trauma is indiscriminate, killing and maiming people of all ages. Indeed, the 16-24 year old members of our society are statistically more likely to die or be injured in a crash.�

The invisible problem

There is a car accident in the average North American city every day. In fact there are dozens of accidents, every day, all day long, more during the rush hours, less late at night. They happen close to you, but you just don�t see them. Even if you happen to be driving on the same road on which a collision has occurred, chances are by the time you drive by the cars have been towed and the mess cleaned up and you don�t even realize that an accident had occurred. But you notice the traffic congestion.

 So the high collision rate is an invisible problem, one of the most difficult types of problems to solve. People just don�t see the collisions that happen every day, all day long, so they don�t demand solutions from their elected, tax funded governments. But they sure do seem to complain a lot. One minor accident can tie up traffic for hours, and the more serious accidents can kill. In fact, people die every day from traffic accidents.

As a result, there is little pressure on the government to solve a problem that most people cannot see.

Try taking a look at it from the perspective of a police officer. There areofficers whose daily job it is to go to traffic accidents, every day, all day. They see it, the rest of us don�t. Of course, the typical police officer might not have an accident to attend at every moment of the day, but then is called to several that occur all at once. But whether you see it or not, the fact is, the rate of collisions is really too high.

So there�s a need for driver training � in order to reduce the rate of collisions. Accidents are caused by people who break the rules of traffic, and one of the primary reasons they break the rules is because they don�t fully understand the rules. Others understand the rules but haven�t been taught to fully appreciate the rules. Either way, they break the rules and cause an accident.

Driver training is about more than just teaching someone how to operate a vehicle, almost anyone can easily drive a car with a few hours of practice. However, the daily rate of accidents are caused by people who have passed the test for a drivers license, and most have years of experience.  but only if driver training and education is improved substantially.

Department of transportation; government regulation

The above billboard is part of a government campaign to put the blame on drivers. However, it is the government that licenses drivers, and the government that fails to educate and train drivers properly before licensing them. The "cure" is in higher education and training standards.

Incidentally, there is apparently a perhaps unintended conflict of interest. As it is the government that licenses drivers, and it is also the government that generates revenue from taxation of the sale of gasoline, it only stands to reason that restricting the number of drivers licenses issued by increasing license examination standards would reduce gasoline sales. Easier examination standards for drivers licenses equals more drivers which equals more cars, more gasoline sales, more tax revenue.

Whether intentional or not is irrelevant, the facts as stated put the government in a conflict of interest to successfully design and regulate driver license and training programs. Only the insurance industry can retain an integral point of view with regards the qualification of drivers, at least for an insurance discount as it may also be argued that more drivers equals more revenue for the insurers. But not for the insurance discount.

Educational motivation

Typically, if there was not an incentive generated by the government-designed insurance discount program, whereby drivers receive an insurance discount if the pass the program, most drivers would not voluntarily spend significant parts of their own hard-earned incomes going to driving schools just to learn how to drive or improve their driving skills. Many, if not most (without statistics) drivers learn from their parents, extended family and friends, or other non-professional educators and trainers, and do not require lessons to learn enough to pass the basic license test. In fact, the license exam is very basic, and requires only limited knowledge and ability in order to pass.

Most of the people who take driving lessons, students whose parents are paying for the program, and some independent students, are motivated to take the program for the insurance discount as opposed to a genuine concern for traffic safety.

The vote motivation

In the end, the government looks good because they appear to be doing something about the high rate of motor vehicle collisions, by generating interest in the driver education program. But the truth is that the driving schools are not properly educating drivers, rather they are selling insurance discounts to anyone who sits in the classroom, writes a simple multiple choice written test, and drives in a student driver car with an instructor for the minimum number of hours.

No real education is being delivered, students are not really learning anything and the problem of a high rate of motor vehicle collisions persists.

Electoral conflict of interest

One of the problems is the fact that the government is not motivated by any financial interest in driver education; insurance companies and their clients pay for damages, and if emergency services are used they are already paid for whether they are used or not. In fact, a reduction in the number of drivers on the roads would result in a reduction of gasoline sales which would consequently reduce gasoline tax revenue. The only motive for the government is the voting public who demands something be done, but generally lacks understanding of both the high rate of collisions and the driver education issues thereof, i.e. Department of Transportation vs. Department of Education. (more)

For most ordinary people, the problem of automobile collisions is an invisible problem and so they are not motivated to demand actions from the government they elect. Furthermore, the general driving public would probably balk at any intention to restrict the freedom, status and privilege they enjoy from the use of a private automobile, even if it were as simple as something like requiring a re-write of the written test when the drivers license is renewed.

As a result of the way driver education is designed and delivered, automobile insurance providers are paying more for damages caused by drivers who end up overconfident, undereducated and lacking in the development through training of necessary and proper attitudes such as compliance, patience, courtesy and proactivity, and particularly a complete understanding of traffic law as almost all motor vehicle collisions are the result of traffic law violations, whether intentional or accidental.

It is therefore essential for the insurers and their clients that the emphasis of the driver education program is for students to possess and demonstrate the qualities of proper motor vehicle operation before they can obtain a certificate qualifying them for the insurance discount; qualities such as self-discipline, emotional maturity, and extensive knowledge of the traffic laws as well as simple motor vehicle operation.

Class action

Perhaps it would require a class action litigation, on behalf of all the past victims of motor vehicle collisions caused by drivers who were improperly educated, trained and licensed to motivate the government to rethink the way driver education, training and qualification is administered.

Given that every second of every day there is a car accident happening somewhere in America; that every day more people die from car accidents than anything else; that driving education programs are not improving the rate of accidents but are in fact actually making it worse because they are poorly designed, regulated and delivered.

Because only education can prevent accidents, Driver Advocate recommends that driver education programs be 100% completely redesigned, from the ground up, by the motor vehicle insurance providers, in conjunction with government departments of education, as the primary and essential component to improving driver safety and reducing and the rate and extent of motor vehicle collisions.

Instructor's testimony

"As a driving instructor, I've seen the problems from the inside out. Not once in the six years that I taught driver education was I ever evaluated by a government official in the student driver car. Only twice in those six years was I evaluated in the classroom, and even then the evaluator was only there for an hour out of a 15 hour program, and once was asleep (or eyes closed) for half of that hour. Every time I tried to express my concerns about the driver education system my concerns were ignored; the department of transportation wasn't listening, it was only talking. There was no communication, no dialogue with instructors, just "get in, sit down, shut up and hold on."

It seemed the only thing the government department of transportation was interested was maintaining the appearance that driver education and training was being delivered, and that it was creating the desired results. Instead, driving schools were handing out qualification certificates to students merely for showing up and occupying a seat and driving on simple residential roads for the required 10 hours, whether the student learned anything was irrelevant, and nobody, particularly the students, were complaining. Whether they learn anything or not, and let me tell you, many do not want to learn, most students are quite satisfied to pass with as little effort or knowledge as necessary; after all, they just want the freedom, privilege and status of driving. And their parents just want the discount, even at the expense of actually learning anything. An this is not difficult to believe if you understand that the parents went through the same system, or not even any system at all, so what do they know?

I heard an interesting story from the guy who sold me my car. He asked me what I did for a living, so I told him I was a driving instructor. He said, "Oh, I remember my driving instructor," as many people do, and continued, "he took me to a bar to watch a hockey game!" Chances are this same individual does not drive properly and many instructors have the same attitude.

Over the years I developed my knowledge and understanding both of traffic and education, developed advanced lesson

Wherever you drive.

Thank you for visiting Drivers Advocate.org

LINKS:

National Government driving website