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In the wake of a research study called "The Role of Driving Experience," the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has produced some key recommendations on driver testing and training.

The study, by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation of Canada , was commissioned by IBC, the major Canadian trade association for property and casualty insurers.

In a recently issued position paper, IBC sets out the critical factors determining driving experience as being:

• Psychomotor Skills: related to the ability to handle the vehicle (e.g., steering and braking);
• Perceptual Skills: related to the ability to perceive the driving environment accurately (e.g., sign recognition, scanning, hazard detection);
• Cognitive Skills: related to the ability to make appropriate decisions and judgments (e.g., speed adjustment for driving conditions, passing); and
• Attitudes and Motivations: related to concern for safety and the willingness to exercise responsible driving behavior (e.g., overconfidence, caution, fear, risk-taking, sensation-seeking).

"Having reviewed the current state of knowledge in these areas-supplemented by a survey of expert opinion-the IBC study found considerable scientific evidence showing that certain critical experience factors influence the level of risk faced by new drivers," says the position paper. "In fact, such evidence had to be present for a specific experience variable to be considered a critical factor," the paper adds.

IBC says a subsequent evaluation showed that eight critical experience-related factors are not being adequately addressed by existing driver training and testing programs in Canada. These factors are:

• Steering Control
• Speed Control
• Visual Search/Scanning
• Hazard Perception
• Decision-Making
• Personal Risk Assessment
• Lifestyle
• Risk-Taking

"The evidence suggests that these factors should be given the highest priority by the provinces when considering changes that would improve the effectiveness of driver training and testing programs," the paper says. Recommendations by the IBC to improve current road tests include:

• Increasing the length of the test (currently a maximum of 30 minutes) so that applicants are required to demonstrate their abilities over a wider array of traffic situations and circumstances, such as driving at night or on expressways;
• Eliminating unnecessary or ineffective measures-for example, staring the vehicle, parallel parking-so that the limited time available can be used to assess more relevant skills;
• Modifying the role of the driver examiner to encourage more interaction between the examiner and the applicant-for example, posing questions about the rules of the road while the applicant is driving-thus creating a more demanding, multiple-task situation;
• Rating searching/scanning ability for each driving situation or maneuver on the test, for example, having the examiner pay closer attention to mirror checks performed by new drivers to determine if effective visual searching of the road environment is taking place;
• Using automated testing procedures such as simulation and computer-aided testing for new drivers, primarily for purposes of hazard detection and to provide exposure to a wide array of driving conditions and circumstances not always possible during an on-road test (note that these methods could also be used to help identify individuals who display risking driving behaviors);
• Making the road test a diagnostic and educational tool, for example, identifying specific deficiencies and prescribing corrective training before re-testing.

The IBC says that driver education and training programs also need to re-examine their emphasis on critical experience-related skills and consider methods to enhance the teaching of these skills. It suggests the following program modifications:

• Extending the time frame for on-road instruction beyond the current limited period of 10 to 12 hours, so that more than just rudimentary skills can be acquired;
• Placing more emphasis on critical skills and tasks-for example, how to integrate skills under different conditions such as night driving-and less on relatively unimportant maneuvers such as parking;
• Better matching of teaching strategies to the types of skills that need to be learned, for example, multi-stage training consisting of frequent periods of short duration to cover the basic skills, and longer sessions over a more extended time frame for complex skills;
• Tailoring programs to identify and correct critical vehicle-handling skills that some novice drivers have difficulty overcoming;
• Having the student, while driving, report to the instructor on decision alternatives, choices and risk assessments-referred to as "commentary driving";
• Introducing lifestyle education to discourage risky behaviors at an early age, long before the age of driver licensing.

IBC says the report, "The Role of Driving Experience", represents one of the most comprehensive studies of driver training and testing methods every undertaken in Canada.

"While our knowledge is still evolving, the research demonstrates that there is considerable room for improvement in existing driver education/training and testing procedures. More important, there is scientific evidence to support a greater emphasis on experience-related factors in the instruction and testing of new drivers-evidence on which the recommendations of this position paper are based.

"To be optimally effective, driver training and testing should be integrated into a multi-stage licensing system. Graduated licensing recognizes this and provides an opportunity to achieve such integration in a way that can significantly improve the process of learning to driver," the IBC adds.

"The adoption of graduated licensing by several provinces in Canada has been a substantial step forward for road safety in Canada. As other provinces adopt graduated licensing-and all jurisdictions continue to seek improvements in road safety-it is now time to take the next steps and full integrate complementary, experience-related driver training and testing procedures into the licensing system."

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