Effective Driver Training Reduces Road Fatalities

Publication date: 31 August 2009

FIA European clubs, the European Union, European citizens and local politicians agree traffic fatalities on European roadways are far too high. Effective driver training is an important way to reduce the number of accidents. FIA Eurocouncil is backing that contention thanks to clubs' special driver training programs, according to the FIA European Bureau's recent survey on driver training at the national level.

“A key to producing better and safer drivers is training and education, and in both areas our member clubs lead the way,” says  Eurocouncil Chairman Werner Kraus. “The training of drivers from early on and throughout their life is one of the most important and most efficient ways to improve drivers’ skills and reduce road fatalities.”

“Road safety is a priority of the first order for all FIA Eurocouncil members. For years, our ‘vision zero’ strategy has been a key driver in the battle for safer roads. This vision says all our efforts should be based on the belief that any road death is one death too many, and we should strive to reduce the risk of death on the road to zero. The motto to achieve this ambitious goal is ‘five star drivers in five star cars on five star roads,’” Kraus says.

The survey shows FIA European clubs are important providers of driver training at the national level, offering a broad range of training to a variety of road users including drivers of cars, trucks and buses.

The FIA Eurocouncil says effective driver training is one of three key elements to improve road safety. Safe vehicles and infrastructure are the other two. And special attention should be paid to novice drivers who are more at risk of causing or dying from car accidents.

The eurocouncil supports addressing the driver’s perception of his/her environment at an early learning stage and throughout the driver’s education. Safe driving not only requires in-depth knowledge of the car and traffic rules but also involves personal values.

A significant number of FIA European club signatories of the European Road Safety Charter target training and education of young audiences in
their commitments.

“In our view, education of young people and drivers is a key to improving road safety,” Kraus says. Thirty three clubs representing 28 countries responded to the survey.Twenty clubs were from EU countries.

In the survey, a number of clubs (15%) provide training for driving instructors, and 63.8% of responding clubs work with driving schools, showing a commitment to address the learning process Providing training isboth a contribution to enhancing national road safety standards and a commercial plus for clubs.

Forty eight percent of clubs propose initial training, and this percentage rises to 56% if we consider only the European Union clubs. 57.5% of clubs proposed advance training (mainly for cars but also an interesting number for vehicles with trailers).

More than half the clubs train between 1,000 and 10,000 drivers a year. Fifteen percent of responding clubs train more than 10,000 drivers
a year. For example, ADAC trained 196,098 drivers in 2008.

Clubs are clearly addressing a driver’s need. Carrying out this type of training enables them to develop much needed expertise and advanced training.

A few examples of training from the survey include:

The AA in the UK provides free training to high-risk groups through its charitable operations.

HAK in Croatia conducts driving exams and supervises driving schools and exams together with the Ministry of Interior.

ACI in Italy offers driver training through 80 franchised driving schools run by local automobile clubs.

For more information, contact Laurianne Krid at l.krid@fiabrussels.com.