Alcohol education for new drivers

By: Drivers.com staff

Date: Thursday, 24. September 2009

In 1995, the Addiction Research Foundation (now part of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health CAMH), in collaboration with the Road Safety Educators Association (RSEA) and the Driving School Association of Ontario (DSAO), conducted a needs assessment survey 1 of driver educators across Ontario.

The needs assessment queried driving instructors about the materials and methods they currently use when presenting in-class materials about impaired driving, as well as their needs for training in teaching methods and new materials.

Instructors' responses showed they wanted new materials and strategies to help them educate their students about wise choices and to help them motivate their students to make these choices.

The survey concluded that a new resource, one which would identify up-to-date teaching methods and materials, was needed. It also concluded that training was needed for instructors in how to use materials effectively.

Executive Summary

A program evaluation was undertaken in order to assess the effectiveness of a continuing education program for driving instructors on the topic of impaired driving prevention education. The program consists of two parts: a teaching manual and a workshop. The basic program goal is to help instructors carry out impaired-driving prevention education in an interesting, informative and effective manner.

A pilot workshop was run in May 1996. Twenty-one driving instructors attended the one-day workshop, held on the second day of a two-day Road Safety Educators Association conference. The workshop was intended to increase the driving instructors' comfort level and skill mastery in impaired driving prevention education, and also to provide the instructors with a new resource manual. The workshop was designed to be an interactive learning experience, with demonstrations made to the group as a whole, interspersed with small-group practice of the material.

The first stage program evaluation was carried out by means of survey questionnaires and observation. This report focuses on the results of the immediate evaluation. A follow-up evaluation, using interviews, is planned.

The results of the immediate evaluation were very positive, both in terms of the participants' feedback and observation. Having initially reported (i.e. before the workshop) high levels of comfort with the material, respondents nevertheless indicated that after taking the workshop, their comfort level had improved. Participants also indicated that they intended to try out in their classrooms what they had learned in the workshop, specifically by incorporating some new teaching methods. Both the teaching manual and the structure of the workshop were evaluated favourably. The observations revealed an interesting and generally energetic group that remained eager and on-task for most of the day.

Observations and comments also revealed that a one-day format is not ideal for this workshop. It is recommended that future workshops either cover less material, cover the same material in less depth, or be conducted over more than one day. It is also recommended that in planning future workshops, the ratio of presenters to participants be kept in mind. The pilot workshops had about one presenter for every five participants, a ratio that worked very well in this setting. As well, it should be noted that the Drinking, Drugs and Driving: Tips for Driver Educators program is geared to new, primarily young, drivers. It is recommended that future workshops acknowledge the diversity that is undoubtedly present in actual classrooms. Finally, it is hoped that this evaluation will be used as a baseline against which the effectiveness of future workshops can be judged.