Unfortunately, many young drivers take a course of driving lessons, pass a Driving Test, and are soon after involved in a road incident. The statistics are alarming:

• 1 in 5 crash within a year of passing the Driving test
• 38,800 deaths and injuries in crashes involving drivers of less than 2 years’ experience
• An 18 year old new driver is more than 3 times more likely to crash than a 48-year-old new driver

Until recent times, passing the Driving Test was focused narrowly on ability to manoeuvre the vehicle safely and dealing with a variety of traffic situations; all very much in an educational context.

The Driving Test assessed whether the candidate could drive safety, however took no account of the life style and personality skills and factors that motivate someone or not to drive safely.

Time for Change?

A European project called ” Hermes” which took place between 2007 and 2010 sought to address’s the causes of young novice driver collisions.

This has resulted in the implementation of the DVSA’s National standard for driver and rider training, which attempts to incorporate and address some of the findings in the Hermes Project, through training delivered by Driving Instructors, using the Goals for Driver Education or GDE matrix.

This Matrix has 4 levels, the lower 2 are focused on safety, maneuvering the vehicle in traffic etc., with number 3 focused on context of the journey and 4 on personality/emotional factors.

To look at how this all works, we must go back to the Hermes report. The finding in the report was that most collisions involving young novice drivers happened at night, on rural roads, with two up in the vehicle.

So, although young novice drivers are assessed as competent to drive, something is stopping them doing it. This is where levels 3 and 4 of the GDE come in.

Responsibility is the key issue.

Too often in driving people avoid this by using the word “accident”, which in some way gives comfort and shift’s blame. People don’t want to be blamed, none of us like “it’s your fault”. Using the word “accident” gives comfort, however is not much use if you are seriously injured or dead.

The driver training industry needs to build awareness in young people of the causes of novice drivers crashes, factors such as overestimation of ability, group pressure, distraction, fatigue, emotional driving motives and seeks to provide them with real coping strategies.