From preschool to year 12, a preparation for driving.

Field of study: The relevance of the teaching of effective traffic safety education in elementary school through to year 12 to development of safer young drivers. The observations and developments of a practical traffic safety education program of over 17 years supported by school based feedback, participant feedback, and self reporting of students. Students accessing this program (from 10000 to 15000 per year) range in age from 5 to 18 years of age and come from a variety of backgrounds.
From a young age this program is developing hazard awareness, problem solving skills, road law understanding, culture of safety, visual efficiency, and haptic capabilities. Some self reporting has highlighted problem areas not made evident by road casualty statistics. This paper will highlight the value of an holistic approach closely relating theory to practical, providing a base of understanding which is then applied in a reasonably intense practical application. The culmination of these programs is the two or three day driver education programs where students gain an indepth understanding of energy, the road environment, their own capabilities (and fallibilities ), and roadlaw.