Does Taking A Driver’s Ed Course Reduce Car Crashes?

A new study may help to sway those who might be on the fence about the value of driver’s ed. Researchers at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln recently released the results of an exhaustive survey of that state’s teen driversNewsrooms Unltoday Article Study Driver S Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes Tickets News.unl.edu . Duane Shell and Ian Newman, of the Nebraska Prevention Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse at UNL, reviewed the driving records of 151,800 Nebraska teen drivers who obtained their provisional licenses between 2003 and 2010. The two found that of those, about 53% had taken a state-approved driver’s ed course; the rest chose the option of completing 50 hours of supervised driving with a parent or guardian.

Wp Content Uploads 2015 08 Drivers Ed.jpg Prodwpids Idrivesafely.netdna Ssl.comOur partner company, DriversEd.com, offers behind-the-wheel training with experienced instructors.

The resultsPdf 2015_DriverEducation_Shelletal_AAP.pdf.pdf Nohs showed that the drivers who had taken a driver’s ed course were involved in fewer crashes: 11.1% of the driver’s ed group, as opposed to 12.9% of those who hadn’t taken a course, had been involved in a crash. The study also showed that those who had taken a driver’s ed course were considerably less likely to get a moving violation ticket. 10.4% of those who had taken a course had received a ticket, compared to 18.3% of those who hadn’t. 

Of course, this is just one study, and it does have its limitations – Nebraska is but one state among 50, teen drivers there can choose whether or not they want to take a driver’s ed course, and the quality of those courses themselves may vary from course to course. Even so, the results seem to show that teens who took a driver’s ed course were better drivers in a couple of key regards. As advocates for driver’s education, we hope to see more studies like this, and encourage parents and teens to consider the benefits of a good driver’s ed course.