Young driver education

Safer Young Drivers: a guide to best practice education

A document, Safer Young Drivers: a guide to best practice education (PDF, 250 KB), has been released that aims to lift the quality and effectiveness of all young driver road safety education programmes.

The document draws on extensive research and experience from New Zealand and overseas. The guide is a key part of implementing the Road Safety Education Strategic Framework released by the National Road Safety Committee in late 2006. The guide is thought to be the first of its type available to New Zealand road safety educators. Its creation was a collaborative effort involving road safety sector stakeholders, commercial driver education providers and the AA.

The guide will help ensure that government and community resources invested in young driver education go where they can deliver the greatest road safety benefits.

The guide has two key aims:

• Raise the overall standard of young driver road safety education.
• Help increase the likelihood that young drivers who take part in road safety education programmes go on to become safer drivers.

Currently the quality and outcomes of young driver road safety education programmes vary. The guide will help providers bring greater consistency to their young driver road safety education programmes and ensure they focus on the needs of the participants.

The guide will enable providers, including schools and community groups, to deliver programmes that will help young people become safe and competent drivers. It will achieve this by assisting providers to develop or modify their existing driver education programmes so they more effectively match the skills and learning needs of the programme participants.

Road safety funding organisations can also use this resource as a guide to the training programme standards that providers should meet to be considered for funding.

Page created: 22 July 2008