Traffic Safety Studies
The DTA Program for Driver Improvement course upon which our online Virginia defensive driving course is based has been the subject of a number of studies since the 1970's. In some states, such as Florida, the course must be evaluated regularly in order for us to continue to offer it to the public as a means of dismissing points for a traffic ticket.
While most other traffic safety courses are not evaluated at all, ours has consistently been shown to reduce traffic crashes and / or violations among course participants. We take great pride in this fact and hope that it will be given consideration by those who are looking for an effective traffic safety course for their business or personal use.
The following is a synopsis of several traffic safety studies that have been conducted on our course over the years.
Summary of Scientific Research Evaluations Performed on the DTA Program for Driver Improvement
Since the inception of automobile transportation in the United States, many efforts have been undertaken to educate motorists in the various aspects of automobile transportation safety. Formal education in the field of driver instruction established a firm foundation in the 1930’s, with a further accelerated growth pattern in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Throughout these “formative years” of traffic safety education, much credence was given to the effectiveness of didactic, information based courses because of their apparent success, which was based, in no small part, upon anecdotal evidence. Graduates of driver education and traffic safety courses of the day seemed to experience a lower frequency of traffic crashes and violations, demonstrating a perceived value in the driver education experience.
However, to the contrary, many scientific research studies indicated that the combination of didactic education along with a Behind the Wheel (BTW) component provided negligible benefits. One such study by New York University in 1969 concluded that "No clear proof has yet been produced showing that driver education, as presently constituted, has a significant favorable effect on driver performance…"
The Aetna / Driver Training Associates’ review of this statistical data – including an exhaustive and first truly scientific evaluation of driver education in America, the DeKalb Study – indicated that a new approach would be necessary if an attempt to affect the recidivism rates for violations and collisions among drivers who attend a traffic safety course was to be viable. To that end, after exhaustive research into the various aspects of the driving task, it was determined that an attitudinal based course of instruction might best achieve the desired objectives.
The results of this effort, the development of the Aetna / DTA Program for Driver Improvement, led to a plethora of empirical data that supported the outstanding success of the course. The initial studies of program effectiveness were conducted by the Cook County, Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety from 1977 through 1980 and the City of Dallas, Texas Municipal Court System, which performed a two-year study that concluded in 1982. More recent scientific research studies were performed on the program by the State of New York in 1987 and by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in 1997, 2002, and 2007.
The first of the New York studies, entitled “Accident Prevention Courses and Their Effect on Automobile Insurance Rates,” was prepared by the State of New York Insurance Department and presented by the Commissioner to the New York State Legislature. This study analyzes data on defensive driver programs from both of New York’s insurance statistical agents and concluded in its preliminary analysis that
…the limited available statistics are consistent with the 10% premium discount…offered to those who take approved defensive driving courses. Viewed in its entirety, the data collected…indicate that the courses have the potential to reduce losses. (page 7)
In a more in-depth study prepared by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles in December of 1987 entitled “Evaluation of the Point / Insurance Reduction Program,” the Department found that “the 84,806 drivers who participated in the Point / Insurance Reduction Program had 15% lower accident rates and 56% lower conviction rates during the eighteen months after attending a motor vehicle accident prevention course than during the eighteen months prior to attendance” (page 11). This study, which reviewed five different courses including the DTA Program for Driver Improvement, found that “the accident rates for all such programs open to the public combined show significantly lower post-course rates for all groups of both males and females” (page 11).
The study concluded that both accident and conviction rates were lower, by significant amounts in many cases, for courses that were available to the public. For public courses, the overall accident rate was nearly 20% lower, while the conviction rate improved by 57%. (1987 NY DMV Study, page 19)
An evaluation of the Aetna / DTA Program for Driver Improvement conducted by the Cook County, Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety from 1977 through 1980 specifically analyzed the Aetna / DTA approach to driver improvement and found that such an approach reduced by one-half the frequency of repeat convictions of persons who participated in the program. Stated another way: “…those problem drivers who did not participate in the program had a re-conviction rate within six months which is twice as large as the other drivers who took part in it” (page 12).
The study corroborated earlier findings of a Florida State University study using a similar methodology to that of Aetna / DTA. This study “…validated the treatment as having a significant effect in helping problem drivers improve their own unsafe driving behavior” (Illinois Study, page 6).
The state of Illinois found that if this program had not been available in Cook County, an estimated 43% of the drivers would have been re-convicted (Illinois Study, page 18). The study additionally found that 2,125 accidents in twenty-four months, or 1,063 accidents per year, were avoided as a result of the implementation of the driver improvement program in Cook County, Illinois (Illinois Study, page 19). Specifically, the study asserts:
“The analysis of available data shows that re-convictions are significantly less…for those problem drivers who completed the course compared to those who did not. The course is also effective in helping problem drivers reduce the number of re-convictions per driver for violations of traffic law” (page 20).
Interestingly, the Illinois study also concluded that:
…the knowledge of the legal driving practices…was not a critical deficiency for most problem drivers. In other words, a person’s familiarity with traffic laws alone is not sufficient to ensure that the person will drive a motor vehicle in a safe and legal manner. Hence a course based on a transactional analysis model [such as the DTA Program for Driver Improvement] which is aimed at changing attitudes and driving behavior, would logically be a suitable remedy for problem drivers. (page 21)
The Illinois study was further enhanced by a study conducted by the City of Dallas Municipal Court System on the “Effectiveness of Driver Improvement Training.” This two-year study conducted in 1982 using the DTA Program for Driver Improvement
…indicated a significant positive effect…The most significant analyses show a 65% reduction in violations for the DTA group while the control group’s violations reduced only by .3%. (page 22)
Ticketed accidents for the trained group were reduced by 55%, while ticketed accidents for the non-trained group were only reduced by 17%. (City of Dallas Study, page 18)
Such studies repeatedly demonstrate that there is a reasonable, objective basis for the contention that research proven effective driver safety courses can be of immeasurable assistance in reducing the number of fatalities and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes.
Source: Driver Training Associates, Inc.
