Center for Transportation Research and Education

The fatality rate for young drivers has increased over the last decade, making crashes a leading cause of death for drivers aged 14 to 20. During the past five years, Iowa has had more than 60,000 crashes involving drivers in this age group, resulting in 267 fatalities and 9,236 known injuries.

To better align the state’s driver education standards with a data-driven approach toward safety for novice drivers, Institute for Transportation (InTrans) researchers have recently completed a research project that aims to address challenges specific to this demographic.

The project, sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), included 9 educational modules and 12 short-form videos worth of course materials addressing modern challenges like distractions and risky behavior, as well as persistent problems like speeding and seat belt use, with the goal of improving safety and ultimately achieving zero roadway fatalities.

“Driver education is an important component in helping novice drivers understand traffic safety and learn good decision-making skills while driving, improving safety for these drivers as well as all road users,” said Shauna Hallmark, InTrans director and principal investigator (PI) on the project.

She added, “Driver education materials that address the challenges faced by these drivers and by driver education instructors and parents are critical for realizing this benefit.”

In addition to the modules and videos, the researchers also provided recommendations for topics to include in Iowa driver education curriculums and for changes to the Iowa Code and Iowa Administrative Rules related to driver education. The video and modules can be accessed at the Iowa DOT’s Driver’s Education Instructor page.

“Current requirements for driver education outlined in the Iowa Code and Iowa Administrative Rules do not take a comprehensive or data-driven approach to identifying and addressing the needs of novice drivers,” Hallmark said. “In particular, the curriculum lacks a focus on helping novice drivers understand traffic safety and acquire the skills that will enable them to develop good lifelong driving habits.”

The recommendations for both the curriculum and legislative changes are largely related to providing additional focus and education in the areas identified throughout the course of the research that included a review of national studies, Iowa crash data, and state and national driver education curriculums, as well as a survey of Iowa-based driver education instructors and parents who have served as instructors.

The topics for the modules and instructional videos also were derived from this research and in consultation with a panel of stakeholders.

The nine focus areas included: distraction, speeding, impaired driving, general risky behavior, seat belt usage, situational awareness, driving with passengers, intersections and rights of way, and challenging roadways.

“The main goal of this research is to enhance Iowa’s driver education curriculum and ensure that it addresses both Iowa-specific and general safety issues to prepare novice drivers for a rapidly changing driving environment,” Hallmark said.

For more on the findings and recommendations, visit the research project page.