Driving is a skill and it requires practice to be competent. A driver education class and a driver’s license do not guarantee safe driving.
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of young people. The situation is most dangerous for 16-year olds. A study conducted by the Insurance for Highway Safety found motor vehicle crash rates were decreasing for every age group except those 16 years of age.
At 16, young people are getting their driver’s licenses. Compared to the past, today’s teens have greater access to cars and are exposed to more high-risk driving situations such as night driving. As a whole, teens are more willing to take risks and less likely able to cope with such dangers.
A decline in time spent in driver’s education has made a bad situation worse. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), because of budget cutbacks and reduced federal aid, only half of the high schools in the U.S. offer driver education, down from about 75% in the mid 1970s. Traditionally, states have required beginning drivers to have very little experience before obtaining a driver’s license. It is becoming increasingly clear to licensing agencies and highway safety experts that the only thing standing between a teen and a car is the parent’s written consent on the learner’s permit and access to an automobile.
In an age of two-parent working families and single parent families, the newest driver in the family is viewed as someone to run errands, pickup siblings, or take themselves to activities and school. What is the answer to the novice driver problem? It is a question that is gaining more and more attention as states pass graduated licensing laws mandating, among other things, that parents spend a minimum number of hours practicing with their novice driver. The majority of parents are concerned about their children and want to make sure they are safe behind the wheel. But there are many constraints to providing adequate practice:
- Lack of time for both adults and novice drivers
- Pressures of work and day-to-day living
- Lack of knowledge, tools, and resources on how to provide guided practice