Operationalising theoretical frameworks for a best-practice model of higher-order driving instruction for Learner drivers

Natalie Watson-Brown

doi:10.25907/00485

Road crash fatalities are the leading cause of preventable adolescent mortalities globally. Young drivers, who are relatively inexperienced in driving, are over-represented in road crash fatalities and serious injuries, with this problem having persisted across driving jurisdictions, including Australia, for decades. Age and inexperience contribute to this young novice driver problem. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) has been introduced to target age and inexperience with extended practice time frames and learning phases mandated to minimise early driving risk and gradually expose young drivers to these risks over time. Despite GDL successes, however, young drivers remain over-represented in road trauma with driver error persisting as a prominent cause. Young drivers’ critical errors are associated with deficits in higher-order driving skills (HO-DS), such as inattention and poor situation awareness, that can be developed through training. Yet practical driver training globally is rarely informed by evidence-based best-practice, and in the bid to impact road crash fatalities has been somewhat neglected in governments’ Safe System approaches. Moreover, there is a dearth of literature regarding current practices in on-road training and without such, best-practice improvements cannot be recommended or implemented. The overarching intent of this research was to identify ways to improve the nature and quality of on-road training provided to young drivers and to develop a best-practice model of higher-order driving instruction (HO-DI). Current on-road professional instruction, focused on HO-DI that aims to develop HO-DS, was explored via Learner lesson observation and young drivers’ perspectives regarding professional instruction experiences. Methodology to identify and assess the nature of HO-DI, and instruction more generally was lacking in the literature and therefore developed as part of this research. This thesis by publication comprised three phases. A mixed methods approach was used to explore current practice in professional instruction in a way that contributed to development of a proposed best-practice HO-DI model. A coding instrument was created (Paper One) to systematically observe Learner lessons in southeast Queensland, specifically the HO-DI provided, and the training opportunities missed (Papers Two and Three). Additionally, a survey exploring the perspectives of young drivers regarding on-road formal training in Queensland was developed. Both measurement tools operationalised the constructivist Goals for Driver Education framework as current theoretical best practice, and self-determination theory (SDT) as a pioneer application to driver training focused on the development of self-regulated positive driving behaviours (Paper Four). Phase One of the research comprised the development of the HO-DI coding taxonomy that was a critical foundation for Phase Two that operationalised the taxonomy. The taxonomy was found to be valid and reliable, able to identify missed, taken, and untaken opportunities of HO-DI, and crucial to the proposed best-practice model development. Phase Two explored 110 driving lessons delivered by 15 driving instructors to 96 Learners aged 16-19 years. The coding taxonomy provided nine a-priori instruction codes including driving plan, vehicle control and manoeuvring, mastery of traffic situations, surveillance, situational risk, personal risk, car function, distraction, and incorrect instruction. A further 39 subthemes, such as visual and cognitive within the distraction theme, were identified verifying the multi-dimensional nature of instruction. Differences as a function of Learner experience (indicated by logbook hours) were also explored, revealing that HO-DI was prominent during the Early Learner phase (<20 logged hours of driving practice) compared to later phases in the current sample. The Early phase was a comparatively more complex phase with greater diversity observed regarding teaching strategies. Phase Three comprised the Learning to Drive survey, with 1,647 novice drivers aged 16-19 years providing details regarding HO-DI experiences during formal lessons, self-reported engagement in risky driving behaviours, and their level of self-regulated safety orientation as conceptualised in the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory. A mediation-by-regression analysis explored Learners’ experiences and found that self-regulated safety orientation was crucial to the effectiveness of HO-DI on influencing reduced engagement in both inattentive (e.g., being distracted and not thinking about driving, failing to notice traffic signs) and intentional (e.g., taking risks to overtake, following closely behind other vehicles) risky driving behaviours. The key findings from the program of research included: (a) on-road instruction is complex and predominantly taught in response to the immediate driving environment; (b) teaching approaches are as important as the content of HO-DI; (c) development of young novice driver self-regulation is overarching and influences all driving decision-making; and (d) HO-DI improvements were found relating predominantly to the more safety-critical skills, such as situational risk and distraction, with many such opportunities missed or untaken. These research findings, in addition to the GDE and SDT frameworks and other relevant literature, informed the development of the proposed best-practice model; the Higher Order Training supporting Competence, Autonomy, and Relatedness (HOT-CAR) model. The model is a theoretical, systems approach to guide training professionals who teach driving instructors, such as registered training organisations (RTO) and Master instructors. The overarching aim of the model is to guide how to teach instructors the techniques to develop Learners’ HO-DS and other safe driving behaviours, employing a student-centric coachlike style of training. Ultimately, the model focuses on long-term sustainable development of these skills to ensure the safety of newly independent drivers, in the early months and beyond, by incorporating knowledge regarding young Learners’ safe driving systems that impact learning, in addition to the nature of training, the Learner and the instructor. This research contributes to the dearth of literature regarding formal driving lessons providing an understanding of current practice on-road Learner training. Measurement tools for driving instruction, a coding taxonomy, and a survey, have been rigorously developed. Limitations of the research were addressed and included inherent biases employing these methods and non-representative samples. Potential future applications of these measures are diverse within driver education and beyond, for example, to parental supervision and to other industries teaching and requiring higher-order safety critical skills. Operationalisation of the GDE, augmented by SDT, enhanced the understanding of current practice and are recommended to be used collectively in future driver education and training research. The HOT-CAR theoretical model has been developed so that practical application, as a train-the-trainer tool, is industry ready. Considerable implications for the driver training industry were discovered including recommended improvements to current practice that are empirically founded. Furthermore, government can be guided by the findings to regulate instructor training and to ensure young Learners are exposed to optimally essential training that has been theoretically-informed, in addition to practically-substantiated, to reduce their crash risk once driving independently.

Operationalising theoretical frameworks for a best-practice model of higher-order driving instruction for Learner drivers

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