Taking Driver Education to a

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Taking Driver Education to a Risk-Prevention
Level Presented October 29, 2003 NTSB Forum on
Driver Education and Training By Frederik R.
Mottola National Institute for Driver Behavior
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Historically, driver education was conceived
to teach drivers how to manipulate the vehicle,
with little emphasis placed upon the
decision-making process. .
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The National Institute for Driver Behavior has
produced a curriculum to provide students with a
lifelong risk-prevention education.
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Risk-prevention education is not merely concerned
with the successful outcome of a task it
requires the driver to take the best
risk-prevention actions during the performance of
a task.
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A driver may seem to execute a perfect
right turn when only the task result is
evaluated. However, an evaluation of the
behaviors could reveal that many of the actions
performed contain high-risk behavior.
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A novice driver will best acquire lasting
patterns of risk-prevention behavior when the
reasons and criterion of performance are
simplified into one pattern of behavior at a time.
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The NIDB curriculum adheres to the most recent
research findings on how the brain develops
during the educational process.
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The odds that a driver will learn to acquire a
lifelong style of empowering driving habits
without having had formal education is as likely
as winning a state lottery.
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To improve the safety of young drivers we need to
look at how we can improve the safety of all
drivers.
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The National Institute for Driver Behavior is
dedicated to the premise that education is an
essential component in the formula for crash
reduction.
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We cannot know if our training programs are
successful unless we know what the final product
should look like.
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We teach one concept at a time and have the
students apply it to all situations. We have a
set of Minimum Standards of Driver Performance
which becomes the major emphasis for drivers to
learn.
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Minimum Standards Categories

• 1.0 Basic Skills and Behaviors
• 2.0 Vehicle Judgment to Roadway
• 3.0 Visualization of Intended Travel Path
• 4.0 Searching Intended Travel Path
• 5.0 Speed Control
• 6.0 Lane Selection
• 7.0 Rear Zone Searching and Control
• 8.0 Following Time and Space
• 9.0 Communication and Courtesy
• 10.0 The ABCs of Zone Control Risk Management

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Minimum Standards Categories

• 1.0 Basic Skills and Behaviors
• 2.0 Vehicle Judgment to Roadway
• 3.0 Visualization of Intended Travel Path
• 4.0 Searching Intended Travel Path
• 5.0 Speed Control
• 6.0 Lane Selection
• 7.0 Rear Zone Searching and Control
• 8.0 Following Time and Space
• 9.0 Communication and Courtesy
• 10.0 The ABCs of Zone Control Risk Management

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4.0 Searching Intended Travel Path

• Target Area to Target Area Searching
• Search to determine condition
• Search for LOS-POT changes
• Search new target area
• Effective Use of Three Searching Ranges
• Know how to judge space in seconds
• Search Target Area
• Search 12-15 seconds ahead
• Reevaluate immediate 4-second danger zone
• Detect Changes to LOS-POT
• Identify deterioration in ability to see or
  maintain travel path
• When LOS-POT change is seen, check other zones
• Identify Open or Closed Zones
• Evaluate intended driving path for LOS-POT
  conditions
• Searching Intersections
• On approach and before entering search left,
  front, right zones
• Searching into Curves and Over Hills
• Search through curve or over hill for status of
  POT, open or closed

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NIDB Risk Prevention Curriculum incorporates the
standards into ten modules building behavioral
habits from the simple to the complex.
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Distribution of Key Behaviors Within the Ten
Modules for Searching Intended Travel Path

• Module 1
• 11. Use of Central Vision
• 12. Use of Fringe Vision
• 13. Driving for Targets
• Module 2
• 6. Target usage for turns
• 7. Search inters lt, ft, rt zones
• 8. Look into turns before steering
• Module 3
• 1. Searching to Target Area
• 2. Evaluating Target Area
• 3. Evaluating Target Path
• 4. Identifying LOSs
• 5. Identifying POTs
• Module 4
• 1. State if target area open/closed
• 2. Evaluate targeting path
• 4. Search LOS-POT 15 sec. range
• 5. Re-evaluate 4 second range

Module 4 (continued) 6. Central vision LOS-POT
detect 7. Fringe vision for monitoring 8. Judge
distance in seconds 9. Identify LOS-POT in all
zones 12. Identify closed zones Module 5 7.
Search Left/front/right zones Module 6 2. Search
intersection 45 degrees Module 7 6. See, respond
to curves in TA 10. Look into curves 12. Evaluate
POTs at hill crests Module 8 1. Identify side
zone changes Module 9 15. Skid detection and
correction
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Students Learn and Practice Key Behaviors in the
Classroom before Performing in Car

• Students are given Physical-mental Equivalent
  Practice (PEP) with the Key Behavioral Patterns
  in the classroom before being expected to perform
  in the vehicle.
• One type of PEP activity is the use of model
  roadway simulations whereby students drive
  matchbox cars, demonstrating the Key Behavioral
  Patterns before being required to perform them
  during the in-vehicle session.

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Classroom demonstrations using the Power Tools of
the Zone Control System Targeting, Reference
Points, and managing LOS-POT Blockages
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Demonstration of Targeting classroom PEP activity
for vision and car control training.
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Targeting
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Targeting is the habit of searching as far as
your target location to determine if your
path-of-travel will be safe.
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Target
Target is a fixed object seen in the center of
the path you intend to drive.
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Targeting Path is the path-of-travel the vehicle
will take to get to the target.
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Target
Targeting Path the path the car will travel
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First, select a target to drive towards.
Second, evaluate the targeting path you will
travel.
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Two concepts for developing effective seeing
habits are
Target
Targeting Path
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Targets get our vision ahead of the vehicle.
Targeting Path defines the space we will be
driving into to reach our target.
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Demonstration of Reference Points classroom PEP
activity to judge position of vehicle to the
roadway.
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You can use the steering wheel to reference the
alignment of the car to the target and to the
road.
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When the car is on target, you will see the
center of the steering wheel aligned to the
target.
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The car is on target for the space to the left of
the mailbox.
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What do you see in the target area that can
affect your targeting path?
Left curve
Down grade
Intersection
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Is the car on target or off target?
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Where you should look and steer to get back on
target?
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(No Transcript)
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The car is back on target. Vision leads the car.
If you look where you want the car to go, correct
steering will most likely follow.
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Demonstration of Zone Control System and LOS-POT
Blockage. The Zone Control System organizes the
vehicles space requirements into six zones and
three information-processing decision-making
steps.
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A most important reason for using targets is to
visually define the path you will travel. What do
you see that can affect your targeting path?
LOS
LOS Blockage
LOS (Line-Of-Sight) Blockage
The elements circled can affect your Targeting
Path.
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School crossing
Brake lights are on.
Intersection
See space in front of car.
Driveway slopes. Child could roll into your path.
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Right Curve
Child could be concealed
Hillcrest
Intersections
See under SUV
School crossing
LOS Blockage
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Target
LOS Blockage
LOS Blockage
LOS Blockage
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Intersection
LOS Blockage
LOS Blockage
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NIDB Offers a Two-Day Instructor Workshop

• Attendees will receive a complete set of
  materials and techniques for conducting
  student-centered classroom activities to prepare
  the student for successful in-car performance.

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Contact NIDB for workshop information
203-250-0704orinfo_at_NIDB.org
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Future Actions That Are Needed
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A. Need to Effectively Train Driving Instructors
for Competency in Risk-Prevention Behaviors

• To improve the quality of novice driver training,
  there is a need to have driver education teachers
  become more effective and capable of teaching
  risk-prevention behavioral patterns.

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The National Institute for Driver Behavior has
proposed a new five-tiered structuring of how
driver educators should be trained and certified.
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Five-Tier Instructor Training

• Tier One To prepare in-car instructors to teach
  modules 1-5 of the ten in-car modules of the NIDB
  Curriculum.
• Tier Two To prepare in-car instructors to teach
  modules 6-10.
• Tier Three To prepare in-car instructor to be
  Lead Instructor for modules 1-10.
• Tier Four To prepare classroom instructor to
  effectively teach modules 1-10 and to be able to
  design and conduct student centered PEP
  activities.
• Tier Five To prepare Risk Prevention Managers
  (RPM) to supervise and administer Risk Prevention
  Modules 1-10.

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B. Driver Licensing Exams Must Test for
Curriculum Criteria

• Licensing examiners need to be trained to test
  from the curriculum
• Drivers should be tested after the completion of
  GDL requirements to evaluate habit formations
• Route plans need to be designed to evaluate
  drivers autonomous driving behavior

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C. Curriculum Should Be Integrated with Subject
Matter From K-12

• Provide 15-20 minute modules for core subjects
• Have computer track modules students complete
• Key behavioral patterns can be applied to
  pedestrian safety, bicycle safety, school bus
  safety, recreational safety, passenger safety,
  driver safety, safety belt usage, consequences of
  substance abuse, anger and stress management,
  decision-making filters, searching skills, vision
  usage, targeting skills, reference points, effect
  speed has upon control, traction management,
  social interactions and valuing courtesy.

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D. Research to Evaluate Acquired Driver
Behavioral Patterns

• Provide information on how well a student
  develops the Standards of Driver Performance
  into autonomous performance.
• Compare the crash history of those with high
  level of performance to those with lower levels.
• Gain information to improve the behavioral
  patterns being advocated.

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E. Societal Acceptance of Driving Behaviors

• Begin with Parents being informed
• Have parents evaluating teens
• Have public service announcements
• With the media and movie industry
• Promote emotional messages of the benefits

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To view all the Standards and Behaviors go
towww.NIDB.orge-mail Fred_at_NIDB.org