Safe Speed Forums

Most scientific studies have found advanced driver training to be ineffective in reducing accident rate, and in some cases higher training standards have actually led to a higher accident rate.

On the other hand there are some great success stories about driver training in fleets reducing the accident rate.

Safe Speed suspects the following broad links apply:

* Skills training is compensated away as drivers use their superior skills but preserve risk levels

* Attitude training leads to greater margins for error and reduces accident rate. But attitude training is hampered because attitudes are "deeply held" and many can learn to pass an attitude test without changing their underlying attitude.

* Attitude proxies are built into Hendon methods and are highly effective.

* Training in observation and anticipation skills are unlikely to suffer from the same risk compensation drawbacks as general skills.

* Some specific and focused skills training might be highly beneficial. For example, we're forever hearing about born again bikers crashing because of inappropriate use of the throttle under hard cornering. Training could quite easily eliminate such inappropriate responses.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Attitudes are, as you say Paul, deep seated - it is by definition a 'predisposition to respond'.
The training regime in which I work has experimented with attitude measurement tools and programs to alter attitudes, but it ain't easy. And remember, we have our students full-time like Henlow.
Short of some sort of psychometric testing to weed out those obviously unsuited (temperamentaly) to driving, I can't really see how the 'one-lesson-per-week' program that most poeple learn to drive under can in any way overwrite years of, well in some cases, appalling attitudes.

This is sadly true! Of course - our lot try to weed out the unsuitable ones - and even then the odd one slips through the net!

Difficult to establish attitudes in the "one lesson per week " scenario that seems to be core driver training in this country - not to mention the DIY that goes on!

And we realise that our own family of dedicated petrolheads who regard driving as priivilege and not a right are a little bit eccentric and "not normal"

Booked my own kids in blocks of 6 daily lessons at different times of the day. Sometimes even twice a day if school time allowed. The others in this family have done likewise. They will go onto Pass Plus, IAM and RoSPA without doubt.

Trouble is - too many are not interested in further tuition and learning once past the L-test, yet think that is end of their training.

These same people will, on the other hand, go to training days albethey paid for by employer without a quibble. It would be nice if the powers that be supported our Sicko's call for hard hitting and persuasive prime time advert campaign for further training on on-going skill development- even if it is just a brush up your HC and good practice session to try to address the attitude problem. This is one of the things she has itemised in her list to the DfT by the way. At least she does try to foster a good attitude towards road use - and perhaps as Gatsobait suggested in another thread here - we should encourage and promote positive attitudes early on via the school's pastoral inputs.

Trouble is - this costs the DfT etc money - which, as we all know, they are not prepared to spend.