DISD official disputes driver training study

DISD official disputes driver training study

By Julie Anne Booty
A national study that says driver education puts more drivers on the road but does nothing to reduce fatal crashes is "irresponsible," a Dallas school administrator says.

"At least 2,000 fatal crashes per year that would not otherwise occur are attributed to increased licensure of 16- and 17- year-olds because of driver education," a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety states.

In general, teen-agers do have worse driving records than adults, "but that's not the result of a bad instructional program," says Morris Brantley, director of recreative arts for the Dallas school district. "You can't say the program is bad because someone abuses the skills they learned in it."

Statistics from the city's traffic safety department for 1976 showed 23 percent of drivers - and 28 percent of motorcyclists - involved in fatal accidents were teen-agers.

Brantley, whose department runs the driver education program, said cars with just one teen-ager in them seldom are stopped for speeding or traffic violations.

"When he's alone, he observes all the rules," Brantley said. But put two, three or four teen-agers in a car, "and this is where it all begins. They "gig" one another, make challenges most teen-agers aren't quite ready to say no to.

"They experiment; they try things that are dangerous, and all of them don't make it. But that's not to say they don't know better," Brantley said.

The national study, which looked at driver education in 2 states, said approximately 80 percent of the 16- and 17-year olds who took driver education received their licenses two or three years earlier than if they had not enrolled in the course.

The observation holds true in Texas, where 15-year-olds who have taken only the classroom instruction in driver education can get a "learner's permit" and drive with another licensed driver in the car with them. On their 16th birthday, students who have completed the "in-car driving and observation" segment of the class can get their license.

Student who don't take driver education have to wait until they are 18 to get a license.

In Dallas, driver education includes 32 hours of classroom instruction, either 12 hours of "simulated" driving and three on the road, or six hours on the road and six hours of "in-car observation."

"This winter, we even took students out on snow and ice, but under controlled circumstances," Brantley said.

Driver education is optional in Dallas, but Brantley said most students take it because they don't want to wait until they are 18 to drive. He estimated about 5,000 Dallas students go through the program annually.

The national study said, "Parents have been misled to believe that driver education decreased the risk of the children's' involvement in crashes."

However, "Since driver education would have to reduce fatal crash involvement per licensed driver more than 60 percent merely to offset its effect of increasing (the number of drivers on the road), it is doubtful that any such program could produce a net reduction in fatal crash involvement," it says.

"The main thing to remember about driver education is that it teaches kids the right, safe way to perform in a car," Brantley countered. "As they become more mature and get more experience, the things we've taught them start to make sense. It's really for a lifetime."

The national study said the basic skills involved in driving usually can be learned easily, but drivers' experience, attitudes, and physical and emotional maturity are the main factors in fatal accidents.

Brantley said working on students' attitudes is a major part of the driver education curriculum, but "... if we knew who to change teen-agers' attitudes about driving recklessly, we would have done it a long time ago.

"If we can get them past their 20th birthday, chances are better they're going to make it."

The Dallas Morning News
Saturday, March 11, 1978
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