Did you know that nine U.S. states don’t require a driver’s ed course as a prerequisite to a driver’s license?
It’s true! Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. all allow drivers to get a license without completing driver’s ed. These states may have other learning requirements (like supervised practice time behind the wheel), but they haven’t made driver’s ed compulsory yet.
Then there are states like Florida, which require a drug and alcohol course, but not a full driver’s ed course.
And why not?
Interestingly, it appears as though some legislatures question the effectiveness of formal driver training. But are those questions warranted?
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at driver’s ed courses to answer a big question: How much of a difference does driver’s ed really make?
But before we can answer that question, we need to take a quick look at the challenges faced by today’s drivers.
Cars Are Getting Smarter, But Are Drivers?
There’s no question that smart technology is making cars safer. In a recent study about how smart car features keep you safe on the road, we found that:
86% of surveyed drivers with automatic emergency braking report that this feature helped them avoid an accident.
83% of those with blind-spot monitoring say the same.
76% of respondents with forward collision warning systems believe this feature also helped them avoid an accident.
Drivers with forward collision warning systems were 20% less likely to report that they had been involved in an accident within the last year than drivers without this feature.
However, we have also seen road conditions becoming more dangerous due to both lifestyle factors and over-reliance on smart tech.
Take our growing dependence on smartphones, for example. We all know it’s dangerous to use a phone while driving. And yet, in early 2024, a survey conducted by The Zebra found that 47% of drivers admit to reading or sending text messages while driving — a significant jump from the 31% who admitted to the same dangerous behaviors in 2021. This is especially prevalent among Gen Z and Millennial drivers, who are 22% more likely than Boomers to be distracted by their phones while driving.
Our reliance on smart car tech is also making us compliant as drivers. Even worse, a failure to understand how the features work can actually increase the risk of accidents. A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that:
79% of consumers did not realize blind sport warnings are not designed to detect vehicles passing at high speeds.
27% did not know that emergency braking may not work effectively if sensors are blocked by dirt, ice, or snow.
More than 50% were not aware that lane-keeping assistance does not work well on curvy roads.
Another study cited in the report found that 12% to 50% of drivers with partial driving automation systems in their vehicles felt comfortable taking their eyes off the road when the system is engaged. An even larger percentage said they felt comfortable texting or watching videos with their automation systems activated.
Distracted Driving is a Major Problem on U.S. Roads
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,308 people were killed and approximately 289,310 people were injured in accidents involving distracted drivers in 2022 alone. And this doesn't just impact the people inside vehicles. Sadly, another 621 pedestrians and cyclists were killed by distracted drivers during the same period.
Drivers in some states are worse than others.
Florida, for example, holds three of the top five slots for the U.S. cities with the worst drivers. In the National Safety Council’s list of states with the highest motor-vehicle death toll, Florida also ranks number 3 (behind California and Texas).
Given this driving climate, what do we know about driver’s ed programs’ ability to produce safer drivers?
Does Driver’s Ed Produce Safer Drivers?
The fact is, it’s difficult to tell how much of a difference driver’s ed makes for a few reasons:
There are so many more factors involved in traffic safety. Driver improvements because of driver’s ed programs can be overshadowed by the lifestyle and tech-reliance changes mentioned earlier.
Establishing causal relationships can be difficult. Would a driver have been in an accident if they had not taken their driver’s ed course? It’s impossible to say.
The quality of driver’s ed programs can vary widely from one course to another. Courses that allow students to zone out may have no impact while engaging courses can create better drivers.
For these reasons, we have some conflicting data from studies conducted over the last decade.
A Car and Driver Report claimed that driver’s education may be “the best way to learn to drive” but doesn’t necessarily reduce crashes.
However, a study by AAA found that driver’s ed reduced crashes by 4.3% and traffic incident convictions by nearly 40%.
And, a study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found that driver’s ed significantly reduces teen crashes and tickets. According to this study of 150,000 teen drivers over eight years, teens who didn't take driver's ed were 75% more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24% more likely to get in an accident with fatalities or injuries, and 16% more likely to have an accident in general.
The Specific Driver’s Ed Course You Choose Makes All the Difference
In reading through the studies on the efficiency of driver’s ed programs, one thing is clear: the driver’s ed school you choose makes a huge difference in your performance as a driver.
Importantly, the Car and Driver Report, which found no correlation between driver’s ed and reduced crashes, specifically followed an in-person driving school that used the “legacy” curriculum format, which had been used since the 1940s. It consisted of 30 hours of classroom lectures plus six hours of drive time.
Education has come a long way since the 1940s. The driver’s ed schools that have embraced modern learning styles are more effective at producing safer drivers.
Take Aceable’s Driver’s Ed Courses, for example. Aceable uses learning science to create courses that are more likely to have positive, long-lasting impacts on students, including:
Self-pacing. Working at your own pace allows you to fully absorb the material.
Digestible lessons. Courses are broken up into bite-sized chunks to prevent cognitive overload.
“Interstitial” reviews. Having quick reviews as you progress helps you to remember what you’ve learned.
Images and videos. Many students are visual learners who recall more of what they see rather than what they hear. And images stick with most students even better than written text.
Engaging content. You’ll get to play games and answer questions, which makes the materials more interesting and more memorable.
If you’re looking to gain an edge in passing your driving test, while building potentially life-saving driving skills, enroll in your Aceable’s Online Driver’s Ed Course today!
Updated 6/27/24