Managing driving standards     An introduction to managing driving standards

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				Don't rely on driver training
					Many people try to use driver training as the panacea for all driver related problems. They think a dose of training will cure anything and everything. There is some face validity to this notion and intuitively it may often seem the best thing to do. However, the chances are that driver training is not the best thing to do. There is little evidence that driver training reduces the number of fleet vehicle crashes.				Resource
					You will have insight into why the evidence is stacked against driver training if you have read this section and An introduction to changing driver behaviour. Should we give up on driver training? No. Leonard Evans, a world authority on traffic safety says The absence of proven safety benefits from driver education does not prove that training cannot increase safety, but merely that none of the methods so far applied have been demonstrated to be successful. The importance of traffic safety justifies continuing searching aimed at discovering more effective training techniques.
					To say that training cannot help in the process of behavioural change would be nonsense and close the door on an opportunity. Christie says '...there is a need to move driver training and education beyond vehicle manoeuvring knowledge and skill, towards a greater understanding of risks, risk reduction and self-awareness.' He suggests leading edge programs will do this and help drivers understand their driving goals and driving motivations. But to recognise such opportunity requires those who manage and facilitate driver training to think critically about their practices.				Resource
					But driver training seems not to attract critical thinkers. Rather than think critically, most driver trainers will refute the research evidence and defend their practice. Thus they teach innocently. Teaching innocently means thinking that we're always understanding exactly what it is that we're doing and what effect we're having.
					This view of driver trainers is not questioning their sincerity: passion and sincerity they rarely lack. But this too has problems, because sincerity does not guarantee good teaching. 'One of the hardest things teachers have to learn is that the sincerity of their intentions doe not guarantee the purity of their practice.'
					Many driver trainers have a lot of baggage to drop off before they can move forward. If you manage driver trainers or intend purchasing driver training you may benefit from questioning their approach. The resource Judge a driver trainer's approach will help you. Contact us for this resource.
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