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Learner drivers are readied for their participation in motorised transport within the framework of specific, internationally-diverse preparation systems. These systems are historically developed and are characterised by country-specific economic, infrastructural, legal and cultural circumstances. With the aid of functionally-distinguishable teaching and learning methods as well as testing methods, a conceptual framework was created whilst drawing upon research-methodological approaches of comparative political science as well as teaching and learning principles that facilitated a description and analysis of the systems for a comparative observation to be performed. The systems for the preparation of learner drivers in 44 countries are illustrated in the report. The descriptions are based upon surveys of experts from various institutions (ministries of transport, driving instructor associations, testing organisations) as well as upon literary and Internet research. Alongside European countries with a traditional formal driver training, \"Graduated Driver Licensing\" systems that are primarily encountered in English-speaking countries were also taken into account when selecting the countries. They are characterised by the guarantee of gaining comprehensive driving experience under reduced risk conditions in the form of supervised driving prior to the start of independent driving as well as protective special rules for learner drivers whilst gaining further driving experience during the initial phase of independent driving. The results enable a detailed insight into the country-specific structure of learner driver preparation with the components of the formal driver training in driving schools, informal teaching and learning methods such as supervised driving, the driving tests that must be successfully completed as well as legal frameworks and quality assurance measures. The functionality of system components and architectures shall be discussed against the backdrop of evaluation findings regarding the effectiveness in terms of safety.
This thesis gives a detailed picture of how planners, politicians, residents and transport engineers in three societies, Britain, Germany and the United States reacted to one of the most powerful inventions of the late nineteenth century, the motor car. Misjudgments of the potential growth of motor vehicle ownership and its adverse effects had serious repercussions in the coming decades, primarily in the dense urban areas. Disturbing has been the underestimation of the importance of public transport as a real alternative to the motor car in urban areas, first by the United States and even several decades later by Britain. Of the three countries, only Germany seems to have struck a better balance. Not surprisingly, already at the beginning of the twentieth century, conflicts occurred between the weaker road participants (pedestrians and cyclists), the existing urban fabric and the motor vehicle. A more comprehensive comparison between Britain and Germany shows that both countries developed specific patterns and had different attitudes towards road transport. Far more has been invested and planned in Germany whereas Britain has shown not so much a lack of foresight in planning but 'in investment in road transport. This major difference has had very visible effects an today's urban structure and transport situation. The demand for restraint of motor traffic had different motives in the two countries, and is not such a new idea as is often assumed. While in Germany even in the 1920s and 30s the protection of historic inheritance was a decisive motive, in Britain that was not the case. Questions of traffic restraint were however raised in connection with road safety and later in the 60s as a means of improving the urban environment. The turning point of nearly unlimited promotion of car use in urban areas took place in Germany during the 60s and 70s, whereas the Buchanan Report had already warned in the early 60s against the adverse effects cars could have in urban areas if they were not controlled. Although even in Britain the report was misunderstood and largely not put into practice, the wave of protest against road building occurred earlier there than in Germany. As a whole, Britain has shown a brillance of ideas in restraining motor vehicles which was lacking in the Federal Republic. At the beginning of the 70s, discussions started seriously in Germany an traffic calming concepts which were slowly transformed into reality, Britain seems to have followed these examples, but with a considerable time lag.
To determine whether the model "Accompanied driving from age 17" (AD17) contributes to improvement of young drivers' road safety, two large random samples of novice drivers drawn from the Central Register of Driving Licences (ZFER) held at the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) were compared in terms of the rates of accident involvement and traffic offences at the start of their solo driving career. The samples comprised former participants in the AD17 model and novice drivers of the same age who had obtained a driving licence in the conventional manner immediately after their 18th birthday. Both analysis groups were contacted by post and asked to complete an online questionnaire. In response, 19,000 drivers reported on their first year of solo driving and on the occurrence of any accidents or traffic offences during this period. The analyses were repeated with two "silent" analysis groups comprising a total of 75,000 drivers, for whom any records of traffic offences were retrieved from the Central Register of Traffic Offenders (VZR), with a distinction being made between offences in connection with an accident and other offences. The AD17 model was introduced in all 16 German federal states between April 2004 and January 2008. By the end of 2009, almost one million novice drivers had participated in the model, and almost three-quarters of the target group - so-called "early beginners" who wished to commence solo driving immediately after reaching the age of 18 years - opted for the AD17 model. The phase of introduction of the model was associated with a temporary increase of around five per cent in the demand for driving licences from persons under 19 years of age. During the first year of solo driving, the rate of accident involvement for AD17 participants was 19 per cent lower and the rate of traffic offences 18 per cent lower than for drivers of the same age who had obtained their driving licence in the conventional manner. After adjustment for confounds (e.g. gender and vehicle availability), a reduction in accidents by 17 per cent and in traffic offences by 15 per cent remained as an effect attributable to the model. A comparison on the basis of the distances driven indicated 22 per cent fewer accidents and 20 per cent fewer traffic offences. The results are statistically significant and apply to both male and female drivers. The findings were confirmed in the replication study based on VZR data, with one exception: For female AD17 drivers, and here only for VZR-recorded offences excluding accidents, no significant reduction was found. On the other hand, the rate for female drivers is already lower than that of their male counterparts by three-quarters. Approximately 1,700 injury accidents were prevented by implementation of the model in 2009.
Within the overall system of novice driver preparation, the practical driving test plays an especially important role for the objective of improved driving safety: On the one hand, the test contents, assessment criteria and test results provide important orientation for the organisation of driving school training and the individual learning processes of the novice drivers (control function); on the other hand, the practical test serves to ensure that only novice drivers with adequate driving competence are entitled to participate in motorised road traffic (selection function). The aim of the present project is to elaborate a scientifically founded model for a future, optimised practical driving test, together with a contextual and methodical (implementation) concept for its continuous maintenance, quality assurance and further development. In addition, the institutional structures of the test system, test methods and test procedures - including the necessary demand, assessment, documentation and evaluation standards - are to be described in a "System Manual on Driver Licensing (Practical Test)". As a first step, selected psychology-based driving competence models and the contents of training and test documents are to be analysed. The results of this analysis will then serve as the starting point for a discussion of possibilities to model and measure driving competence, and for the outlining of a driving competence model for the theoretical determination of appropriate test content. Subsequently, demand standards for an optimised practical driving test can be derived by applying action theory principles to the demands of motor vehicle handling, and thereby defined as minimum personal standards for driving test candidates. This elaboration is to take into account not only latest knowledge from the fields of traffic and test psychology, but also relevant stipulations in licensing regulations, international trends in the further development of test standards, and novice-specific accident causes and competence deficits. A further outcome of the project - alongside theoretical-methodical foundations for optimisation of the practical driving test and for the draft of a system manual - is to be a "Catalogue of driving tasks (Category B)", in which the demand standards for the practical driving test are described in the form of situation-related driving tasks and situation-independent observation categories, as a means to specify the criteria for event-oriented performance assessment and overall competence evaluation. At the same time, criteria for the examiner's test decision are to be defined. This optimisation work will contribute, finally, to further development of the adaptive control strategy for the practical driving test. To enable implementation of the further developed demand, assessment and documentation standards of an optimised practical driving test, a contextual and methodical concept for an electronic test report is to be presented, together with an ergonomically founded design proposal for both hardware and software. The computer-assisted documentation of test performance is intended to support the driving test examiner in planning of the course of a driving test and assessment of the candidate's driving behaviour. Furthermore, optimisation of the performance feedback to candidates and improved possibilities for scientific evaluation of the optimised practical driving test are expected. With regard to test evaluation, a fundamental model is to be described, which - alongside monitoring of the psychometric quality criteria within the framework of an instrumental evaluation - incorporates an evaluation of test results, product audits and the responses to candidate and driving instructor surveys. Finally, the possible influence of driver assistance and accident avoidance systems on the realisation of a driving test and on the assessment of test performance is to be discussed.