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An Educated Prevention: The effects of a police-led school-based driver education program

This study examines the impact of a police-led driver education program on the attitudes and behaviors of young drivers. The program, called Life Awareness Workshop (LAW), aims to improve driver safety by addressing the FATAL5 and encouraging positive interaction between police and young people. Pre and post-surveys were conducted with high school students, and the findings indicate significant improvements in future intentions and attitude changes, particularly among females and high sensation seekers. The program does not replace practical driver training but complements it. Future research should focus on testing the extended effects of the program, measuring changes in perception of police, and adapting the program for repeat traffic offenders.

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An Educated Prevention: The effects of a police-led school-based driver education program

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  1. An Educated Prevention: The effects of a police-led school-based driver education program Levi Anderson

  2. Australia

  3. Driving in Australia • 19.2 million registered motor vehicles in Australia • Average age of vehicles on Australian roads is 10.1 years • Almost 15.5 million licenced drivers (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018)

  4. Queensland Police Service • State-based organisation • 13,000+ staff members • 1 July ‘16 – 30 June ’17 (Queensland Police Service, 2017)

  5. Driver Training and Education • Training of physical vehicle control skills does not address the attitudes and behaviours of young drivers and research suggests it may increase crash risk • Evaluations of driver education support their ability to change the attitudes of young drivers (Christie, 2002; Beanland, Goode, Salmon, & Lenne, 2011; Lewis, Fleiter, & Smith, 2015; Peck, 2011)

  6. Life Awareness Workshop • First opportunity for police-youth interaction • Addresses the FATAL5 in detail • Delivered in high schools on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland • Use of local and relevant crash examples • Encourages questions and involvement in the program (Campbell & Nelson, 2017)

  7. Why was it created?

  8. Study Design • Pre-Survey • Socio-demographic information • Thrill seeking index • Behaviour of Young and Novice Driver Scale (BYNDS) with additional questions relating to mobile phone usage • Post-Survey • Modified version of BYNDS (Scott-Parker, Watson, & King, 2010)

  9. Sample • 294 high school students • Aged between 16-18 years of age (M=17.13) • Most had entered the licensing system (98.95%) on either the L or P1 licences

  10. Pre Survey Findings • Males report higher instances of high-risk self-reported driving behaviour compared to their female counterparts • Males accounted for 70.5% of individuals with ‘High’ sensation seeking levels

  11. Post Survey Findings • When compared to the self-reported behaviour: • Overall, the future intentions of young drivers improved • Females showed a greater improvement when compared to males • High sensation seekers showed a greater improvement when compared to low sensation seeking individuals

  12. What does this mean? • LAW program supports the development of safer attitudes towards driving • Offer an opportunity to develop a relationship between police and young people

  13. Conclusions • The LAW Program changes the attitudes of young drivers • The program offers an opportunity for police to have a positive interaction with young people • Does NOT replace the need for practical driver training. Young drivers still need to develop vehicle control skills

  14. Future Research • Testing for the extended effects of the LAW program • Testing the generalisability of the program • Measure changes in perception of police • Adapting the program for use with repeat traffic offenders

  15. References Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2018). 9309.0 - Motor Vehicle Census, Australia. Retrieved from Canberra, Australia Beanland, V., Goode, N., Salmon, P. M., & Lenne, M. G. (2011). The efficacy of advanced driver training: a targeted literature review Retrieved from Monash Accident Research Centre (MARC) Campbell, D., & Nelson, D. (2018). [Origins for the Life Awareness Workshop]. Christie, R. (2002). The effectiveness of driver training as a road safety measure: An international review of the literature. Paper presented at the Australasian Road Safety Conference. Lewis, I., Fleiter, J., & Smith, J. (2015). Students' Responses to the RACQ Docudrama Program. Peck, R. C. (2011). Do driver training programs reduce crashes and traffic violations? — A critical examination of the literature. IATSS Research, 34(2), 63-71. doi:10.1016/j.iatssr.2011.01.001 Queensland Police Service. (2017). 2016-17 Annual Report. Retrieved from Brisbane, Australia:

  16. Thanks levi.anderson@griffith.edu.au

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