Ontario: People who take driver's ed MORE likely to crash

[Ma Deuce]

Motorists who take drivers ed courses get in crashes more often: auditor

Last Updated: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 | 3:21 PM ET
The Canadian Press

Motorists who take a provincially approved drivers education course get into more crashes, and hundreds of driving instructors are collecting demerit points for common violations like speeding and disobeying traffic signs, Ontario's auditor general found in his annual report released Tuesday.

Even though there are fewer drivers graduating from training courses, auditor Jim McCarter said they are 62 per cent more likely to get in a traffic accident — up from 24 per cent in 2000. But McCarter said the province hasn't investigated the baffling finding or taken a critical look at its accredited driving schools.

"Other factors, such as the driver's attitude, actions and driving experience may play a role," McCarter's report said.

"However, the trend we noted is quite pervasive and warrants followup by the ministry to ensure that new drivers are being given the most effective training possible."

Part of the problem may lie with driving instructors who were more likely than the general population to accumulate demerit points, McCarter suggested. About 360 instructors — 6.5 per cent — collected demerit points for speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and disobeying a traffic light, he said.

Yet the province hasn't reviewed its driving-instructor course since 1997, McCarter added.

"Driving instructors with repeated infractions under the Highway Traffic Act are permitted to teach novice drivers the rules of the road," McCarter's report said.

One driving instructor who started teaching in February had four demerit points and six licence suspensions for unpaid fines, McCarter said. The fines were for not having a valid vehicle permit, improper use of a seatbelt, not having an insurance card and failing to produce a driver's licence, he said.

"Once driving instructors are licensed, there is no requirement … that they be up to date on the necessary standards," said McCarter, adding refreshers are required in three American jurisdictions.

In its response, the Ministry of Transportation said it "agrees that driving instructors must lead by example." The province said it has reduced the number of demerit points an instructor can carry from six to three and is drawing up higher overall standards for instructors.

But despite repeated complaints against some driving schools — including some who allegedly sold driver-education certificates — McCarter said the province hasn't acted.

"Despite some driving schools having a number of repeated violations, no school has been removed from the list of ministry-approved course providers, nor were other sanctions applied," McCarter said.

Since the auditors began their investigation, McCarter said the ministry has revoked the accreditation of 13 schools.

Whether a person passes their driver's test may also depend on where they live, McCarter said. Drivers in northern Ontario have a much higher pass rate — 85 per cent — than motorists living in central Ontario.

"Some differences in pass rates can be expected owing to, for example, differences in examiners' judgment and test routes," McCarter said. "However … there were significant differences in pass rates among regions and among examination centres both in different regions and within the same region."

Unfortunately, this isn't surprising. While I went to a good driver's school, I have heard too many horror stories from acquaintances about other drivers ed courses to believed that experiences such as mine are the norm. I think Mike even has a post in his blog concerning a dumbshit driving instructor who thought that school zone speed limits were a "suggestion". This is compounded by the fact that the supervised driving period is simply too short (8 months if you take driver's ed, 12 months if you don't).

[Sea Skimmer]

I see two factors being behind this; the first is that most driving schools just suck everywhere on earth based on everything I’ve ever heard on the subject. The second is that bad drivers or people with parents who are bad drivers and thus bad teachers are more likely to use a driving school.

[The Yosemite Bear]

I just remember scoring so high on the pitifully easy written test that they asked me If I wanted be an instructor. (I hadn't yet even proformed the basic skills test)

[Darth Wong]

Did I ever mention the asshat driving instructor who taught my sister in law, and who said that the best way to merge onto a busy highway is to drive right up to the end and then cut in front of someone? After all, you get to pass lots of people that way!

In any case, I suspect there's also an economic factor here. A lot of aggressive young-punk fast-car drivers come from well-to-do families (how do you think they can afford the cars they're driving), and of course, they'll get driver's ed. All the driver's ed in the world won't make a spoiled rich brat into a decent person who thinks of other peoples' safety.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Wow, apparently I'm one of the few people who went to a good driving school, then. I haven't has any of those types of experiences, and have found a whole lot of what was taught to be quite useful on the road.

[Caius]

I think also is the attitude of young drivers taking the class who think that because they took drivers ed that they know the rules of the road and they are right in their driving techniques. I get that feeling after having just taken the in class lessons last month. I haven't taken my in car yet, so I can't comment on that.

I'm just curious if this sort study is going to lead in a reverse of insurance rates, or perhaps drivers taking the course won't get any insurance benefits.

[The Dude]

My guess is that drivers who've taken lessons or courses are younger on average than those who haven't. The correlation between age and accidents is pretty strong (hence the much higher insurance premiums for young drivers).

[NeoGoomba]

Way back, during my 5-hour course, there was actually a head-on collision a block away from the facility. The instructor walked us down to the corner so we could see the two mangled cars and he just said something along the lines of "if you dont pay attention, that is you within 2 years", then walked us back up to finish the course.

That made a big impression on a bunch of 16 year olds.

[Solauren]

I'd be interested to see a break down of the study, by age, driving school (and instructor if feasible), and cross check that with the instructors driving habits and record.

Some driving schools probably have piss poor standards, and accept anyone. They drive well enough to get the job on the interview, if any such test is given by the school, then teach bad habits to the students.

I'm not surprised however. Some insurance companies don't give discounts to some schools.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Actually another thing that pops into my mind is that one of the biggest scum bags I knew in high school & college was a driving instructor. He told me that they paid him per client just to get them to the minimal skills nessesarry to pass the DMV exam, and not train them in breaking bad habits, or any thing else. as per scum bag level, he was occassionally shagging the students he taught.