AAA Foundation Releases Guidelines for Evaluating Effectiveness of Driver Education Programs

WASHINGTON--In order to improve novice driver training and education programs, the AAA Foundation, with funding from BMW of North America, has developed comprehensive guidelines on how to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs. Until now, most driver education evaluations have been rather limited in scope, lacked scientific rigor and have only attempted to determine whether or not driver education “works” without shedding any light on how programs can be improved.

“Although driver education and training courses have long been a popular and convenient means to achieve mobility, the number, scope and quality of evaluations completed to date have not been sufficient to support program improvements that will produce safer drivers,” said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “The AAA Foundation, with co-funding from BMW of North America, commissioned Northport Associates to develop these guidelines with the hope that future evaluations will not only provide an increased understanding of what is working, but will lead to enhanced programs, more innovation and eventually, a renaissance throughout the entire driver education industry,” added Kissinger.

With assistance from an advisory group of leaders involved in driver education and evaluation, Northport Associates conducted a thorough review of the driver education evaluation literature, examined methods and theories of driver education programs and assessed various evaluation methods, measures and data sources.

“We developed a Management Overview of evaluating driver education programs to serve as a primer for driving school owners and managers who may be considering initiating a formal evaluation program,” said Larry Lonero, principal of Northport Associates. “We also developed a How-To Guide to facilitate relatively simple, in-house evaluations of driver education programs, as well as Comprehensive Guidelines to serve as a reference for researchers and professional program evaluators who design and execute comprehensive evaluations,” added Lonero.

“We commend the AAA Foundation for its leadership in this area and are pleased to partner with them to get these Guidelines distributed and more importantly, in use through North America,” noted Allen Robinson, Ph.D., CEO of the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association (ADTSEA). “By implementing evaluations, driver educators will be able to more effectively alter their programs for the benefit of the novice driver and all motorists.”

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is an independent, publicly funded, 501 (c)(3) charitable research and educational organization established in 1947 by AAA. The AAA Foundation’s mission is to prevent traffic deaths and injuries by conducting research into their causes and by educating the public about strategies to prevent crashes and reduce the impact when they do occur. Each report from the Evaluating Driver Education Programs project is available on-line at www.aaafoundation.org.