I walk down a residential street and see a car with a sticker not on the bumper, but on the trunk because apparently the drivers of the car want to make sure all surrounding drivers see it: “Please Be Patient Student Driver.” I took driver’s ed when it was still taught in public schools. My teacher was a very tall Native American with the exotic name of Mr. Shenandoah. I was not the best student in the class, but I wasn’t the worst either. I did marvel at Mr. Shenandoah’s unlimited patience with mistake-prone teenagers. My father also took me out to empty parking lots for test drives; my mother was glad to leave that responsibility to my dad. He was glad that our car had an automatic transmission, so he didn’t have to teach me how to shift. The first car I drove was a Chevy Bel Air with a front bench seat that was not bolted to the floor on the passenger side, so it was always a rockin’ ride. Then my family got a Chevrolet Biscayne station wagon. I was driving it a little too fast one day, coming to a screeching halt at a stop sign. Because there were only lap belts at that time, my mouth hit the steering wheel, knocking out my front tooth. It was right before graduation, and I barely opened my mouth at all in school until I got an artificial replacement for my tooth. Driver’s ed is a rite of passage for many teenagers. Let’s find out more about it.
According to Wikipedia, driver's education, driver education, driving education, driver's ed or driving lessons is a formal class or program that prepares a new driver to obtain a learner’s permit or driver’s license. The formal class program may also prepare existing license holders for an overseas license conversion or medical assessment driving test or refresher course. It may take place in a classroom, in a vehicle, online or a combination of the above. Topics of instruction include traffic code or laws and vehicle operation. Typically, instruction will warn of dangerous conditions in driving such as road conditions, driver impairments and hazardous weather. Instructional videos may also be shown, demonstrating proper driving strategies and the consequences of not observing the rules.
Education is intended to supplement the knowledge obtained from government-printed driving handbooks. In-car instruction places a student in a vehicle with an instructor. A car fitted with dual controls — which has pedals or other controls on the passenger side — may be used.
History
Driver training began as a business in the United Kingdom in 1909-1910. The British School of Motoring or BSM was founded in 1910 in South London by Hugh Stanley Roberts. It offered hands-on training and courses in driving skills — managing the controls and road aptitude — and repair. It also offered vehicles to drivers who wished to practice.
According to John Peatman’s June 2011 article “Driver’s Education ‒ Putting It In Gear” at The Pennsylvania Center for the Book – Driver’s Education at Penn State University, Amos Neyhart, assistant professor at Penn State University initiated the first organized high school driver education course in the country at State College High School, State College, Pennsylvania. He decided it was time to begin teaching future drivers how to drive and how to do it safely, after a drunk driver reportedly hit his parked car. In his mind, he believed that the frequency of traffic related accidents was largely due to the fact that at the present time — 1934 — the effort put forth in teaching new drivers is very small.” He began teaching safe behind-the-wheel practices to students at State College Area High School in his own car, a 1929 Graham-Paige.
In 1934, after becoming an instructor for the classroom and in-car portions of the driver’s education course, he wrote a guidebook for instructors entitled, “Instructors Guide Book ‒ For Training Drivers For Emergency Driving,” and submitted his thesis to the university, “The Relation Of The Training And Other Characteristics Of Automobile Drivers To Their Proneness To Accidents.” His first concern with implementing driver education courses in schools was determining whether or not instructors possessed the necessary qualifications needed to fulfill their job requirements.
In his “Instructors Guide Book ‒ For Training Drivers For Emergency Driving,” Neyhart advises instructors to:
- Volunteer for at least 40 hours of training.
- Be willing to use their own cars and tires no less than five hours a week.
- Be between the ages 18 and 50.
- Have a valid driver’s license.
- Have driven at least 3,000 miles in the last three years.
- Pass a diagnostic road test to show proficiency in handling a vehicle under varied driving conditions.
- Have good hearing and vision.
“Such drivers,” he explained, “must know much more than the average driver about motor vehicles, so that they can intelligently maintain their own automobile or motor corps equipment and even make certain emergency repairs on the road.”
These qualifications may seem excessive to modern-day drivers, but Neyhart’s research supports his strict qualifications. He stressed the importance of teens developing the correct driving habits and skills. “Youth is eager and anxious to learn” he argued. “Both muscle and mind are pliable,” and thus, there are several factors the instructor must consider in training young drivers. Does the length of the teacher’s driving experience have an appreciable effect on the accidents of the learner? What effect has the teacher’s style of driving on the learner’s driving habits? Has the personal relationship of the instructor and learner any effect on proneness to accidents? These are just three of 32 factors he desired instructors to consider while teaching students, and are why he suggested teachers be even-tempered, sympathetic, have unusual patience and not be easily excited or angered.
He similarly suggests that students in driver’s education courses need to take the course seriously and listen attentively to what the instructor has to say. In his additional text, “Instruction Book on the Safe Operation of a Motor Vehicle For Teachers and Learners,” he states “The learner should realize that every careless and inattentive act on his part not only endangers his life, but [also] the lives of his passengers, pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles.”
Neyhart believed that the key to successfully implementing driver education in schools and seeing an improvement in teen driving, would be placing the course early in the semester, prior to the students reaching the minimum driving age. It was additionally important that the course count for credit and not be regarded as an extracurricular activity or club. As he put it, “In the adult world, driving a car is definitely not a hobby.”
The guidelines he established for driver’s education courses during his time have mostly survived and continue to be taught in classrooms today. With improvements to technology, some of the conditions he would have required for one to obtain a driver’s license have disappeared. For instance, when he taught his in-class portion of the course, he emphasized the importance for his students to have a “general knowledge on how a car runs and how to keep it running properly.” While he acknowledged that it was not a course that was designed to make mechanics out of its students, knowing the parts of a car’s engine and how they worked was something he believed would contribute to his student’s safety on the highway.
With the constant improvements to technology today, Neyhart would surely be astounded by the invention of cars like the Lexus LS 460L, which parallel parks itself. In the 21st century there are still men and women who know a great deal about the inner workings of automobiles, but it isn’t information that is absolutely necessary for a driver to know. If one notices irregularities in the performance of one’s automobile, the simple solution is to take it to a repair shop. If his “general knowledge” was still widely taught today, drivers could probably save a significant amount of money performing manual repairs themselves. His standardized teaching guidelines for driving instruction and “sportsmanlike driving,” which range from what a driver should do before starting the engine, to brake time and how to properly shift gears to driving on the open highway. These guidelines and many others are still used today and can surely be said to have made an impact on the safe driving habits of millions of American drivers.
According to Wikipedia, the more correct and original designation is driver education, without the possessive, as with teacher education, or driving education as with nursing education. However, over time the possessive version has become dominant.
Instruction
Driver's education is intended to supplement the knowledge obtained from government-printed driving handbooks or manuals and prepares students for tests to obtain a driver’s license or learner’s permit. In-car instruction places a student in a vehicle with an instructor. A car fitted with dual controls — which have pedals or other controls on the passenger side — may be used. In the United States, driver's education is typically offered to students who are 16 years old or will be by the end of the course. Each state has its own laws regarding the licensing of teenagers. In Germany, space is at a premium while traffic is able to flow very efficiently and with fewer collisions. The way in which people are taught driving fundamentals plays a huge role in the safety and efficiency of traffic. Within the United States, students may have access to online training, classroom training or parent-taught courses. While these classes may provide a lot of information to the student, their effectiveness may only be limited to one area of knowledge. In Germany, students are given a hybrid of these classes. They have much more exposure throughout their school to real-world scenarios and classroom curriculum. Fundamentals of driving are reinforced in these classes, including the importance of turn-signal usage, keeping a safe distance behind others and maintaining situational awareness. It is argued that more efficient and safer traffic flow can be achieved by increasing the length of the driver's education classes in the United States, to involve more hands-on training and strengthening of driving principles.
Online courses
An online driving education is one of the most affordable and convenient ways to acquire driving education. Many driver's education courses are available online. It is up to the relevant government authority to accept any such programs as meeting their requirements. Online drivers ed may be taken as a substitute for classroom courses in 13 states. Some car insurance agencies offer discounts to those students who have completed a driver's education program. Online programs allow parents to administer the behind-the-wheel driving instruction. Many studies have also started looking at the relationship between online activity — especially among the young adults — and driving license holding.
Obtaining a license
Successful completion of a driver’s education course is required by many agencies before young drivers receive their driver’s license or learner's permit. In some countries, students taking driver's education have the opportunity to receive a waiver for successful course completion which allows them to receive a learner's permit or driver's license without taking some of the tests.
On track
Some car clubs conduct driver education programs focused on how to handle a car under high-speed driving conditions rather than on learning the rules of the road. These programs take place at road racing courses and include both classroom instruction and vehicle-based instruction.
Students drive with an experienced instructor until they are "signed off." At this point, they can continue practicing and improving their skills without an instructor. Driver education programs involve multiple cars together on a racetrack, but they are not considered racing because they are not timed, winners are not declared and drivers must wait to pass until the driver being passed gives permission with a hand signal. These programs require approved racing helmets and rollover protection for convertibles. Some require long-sleeved shirts and long pants for fire safety. However, they do not require full roll cages, five or six-point seat belts, fire extinguishers, fire-resistant racing suits or other safety features seen in racing and more.
Impact Teen Drivers
Impact Teen Drivers was founded in mid-2007 by the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, California Casualty Management Co. and California Teachers Association. The executive board consists of CEO Jon Hamm of the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, Senior Vice President George Bowen of California Casualty, Executive Director Carolyn Doggett of the California Teachers Association, California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow, California State Superintendent Jack O’Connell and Parent Representative Robin Reid-Anderson. Impact Teen Drivers is led by Executive Director Dr. Kelly Browning. Jon Hamm conceived the idea because of the large number of crashes involving youth that the California Highway Patrol responds to.
Activities
Impact Teen Drivers sends free teaching materials to high schools, driving schools, law enforcement agencies and other interested parties. Teaching materials are also available free online. Impact Teen Drivers creates an online social network through Twitter and Facebook.
The first campaign was rolled out in May 2008 and the second was March 2009. Fall 2009 was the start of a new campaign — "What do you consider lethal?" — including the launching of the new teen-centered site of the same name. Browning was interviewed by the New York Times in August 2009 about a graphic video produced about the dangers of distracted driving and possible cell phone technology that could help prevent phone-related collisions.
Spring campaigns coincide with California Teen Safe Driving Week. Resolutions are sponsored by California State Senators and Assembly Members. Past sponsors include: Assembly Member Pdro Nava and Assembly Member Mike Feuer in April 2008, Senator Alan Lowenthal and Assembly Member Mike Eng in March 2009 and Senator Alan Lowenthal and Assembly Member Cathleen Galgiani in March 2010.
Comments