Resources to help people drive to the standard     An introduction to changing driver behaviour

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				Consider these assumptions
					The components of training include content, instructional design, process, assessment and evaluation. People's views on how training should be facilitated - and how these components fit together - depend upon their assumptions. Some people do not question the assumption that traditional driver training is an effective means for changing driver behaviour. When assumptions are not questioned, practice does not change. Teaching, indeed all our actions, will always be based on assumptions of some sort. What is important for rigorous teaching is that the assumptions that underpin training are carefully examined. It is possible to assume that traditional driver training effectively changes driver behaviour. But research demonstrates there is no evidence to support this assumption. Proceeding with such a training program might well increase a participant's chance of crashing! AmbulanceDriving has considered and documented the assumptions upon which the training aspects of this site and CD-ROM are based. Here are some of our most important assumptions... Scientific evidence has yet to demonstrate driver training courses have delivered clear safety gains. Some courses have even increased participants' likelihood of crashing. Driver training programs have been developed on the basis of intuition and the experiences of 'expert' drivers. A more scientific and educationally sound approach is required. Driving is an unsupervised and self-directed activity. Thus, drivers' emotions and motivations mostly determine the risks they are exposed to. Training must attend to the physiological, emotional and cognitive elements of driver behaviour. Training does not change people's behaviour. Training is a springboard for change. Real change can only occur after training. Effective training helps participants prolong the learning experience and adapt it to the world they live in. Learning organisations consider training as only one type of experience that can contribute to change. A variety of factors - environmental and contextual - influence drivers' behaviour in organisations. It follows then that combining interventions such as training, policies and social and cultural activities will best address these factors. One treatment working in isolation is unlikely to have a positive long-term influence on the choices drivers make. Effective driver training programs, incorporating training and non-training interventions, need clearly defined goals and performance indicators to guide tactical and strategic decision making. The above assumptions mean that you have a great challenge in getting people to the standard and helping them remain there. (They also go some way to explain why personnel deviate from the standard.) The assumptions are useful in that they can guide our practice. They encourage us to think more deeply about the learning experiences we must facilitate and how important it is that we can influence the participant's environment after training. Training is a springboard for change. Real change can only occur after training.

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