Novice Driving is Risky Business

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 Institute 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 license. Compared to the past, today's teens have greater access to a car 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 to use safety belts. Additionally, they are more likely to underestimate the dangers associated with hazardous situations and less able to cope with such dangers.

"Driver training teaches skills, but skills are only effective when practiced. That's true in sports, music and especially driving." says Del Burns, Driver Trainer at ITC Safety.

A decline in driver's education has made a bad situation worse. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), because of budgetary 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-70's.

Practical Solutions

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 a age of two parent working families and single parent families, the newest driver in the family is viewed as a benefit for running errands, picking up siblings or taking themselves to activities and school.

What is the answer to the novice driving 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.

NETS is offering The Novice Driver's Road Map  to employers who want to keep health care costs down as well as to driver licensing agencies, highway safety organizations, judges, schools, and Safe Communities coalitions.

The Novice Driver's Road Map is designed to provide the missing link in a novice driver's education - practice.

This product helps an adult coach guide the novice driver through a series on eight suggested drives or practice sessions starting with an empty parking lot and progressing through driving in inclement weather.

For more information on obtaining The Novice Driver's Road Map , contact NETS at 888-221-0045, www.trafficsafety.org or call Dan Vartanian, Michigan NETS Coordinator @ 517-333-5323.