Driving Lessons: History And Prospects

From the time automobiles were invented in the early 20th century and on to the decades

that saw its adoption as humankinds preferred mode of land transport -- there has always been a need to provide proper driving lessons to new motorists. Proper and safe driving quickly became a public safety issue as streets became jammed with different types of motor vehicles.

However, a quick overview of the history of public transportation reveals that it was not until recently that governments mandated the teaching of driving lessons in government schools. In the industrialised world, where the motorcar was adopted quickly and more pervasively than in other societies, technical driving lessons were introduced at a time when the motor vehicle was already running on the road for more than 50 years.

Driving lessons become a part of the public school curriculum

In the United States for example, driving lessons became part of the public school curriculum only in the 1970s. These lessons, targeted to a teenage audience, drew most of its inspiration from the book Drive Right. This book covered the basics of driving (such as driving on the right side in the US) and contained lessons on road safety. The lessons were typically administered in lectures or in practical tests, and were supplemented with graphic visual material -- grisly pictures of road accidents that were meant to scare teens into driving responsibly.

A new attitude towards driving then emerged -- the concept of defensive driving. These new model of driving lessons was viewed as more adaptive than then-prevailing attitudes. The method focuses on saving lives, time, and money despite the road conditions faced by the driver, and despite the action or inaction of other road users. However, this new emphasis was criticised as too general, and not particularly attuned to the needs of teenagers who constitute the bulk of new drivers.

Present and future of driving lessons

The dominant trend after the 2000s was a shift of driving lessons away from the public schools. More parents now enrolled their kids on private schools or let them be tutored by private instructors. Typically, the driving school is operated as any private business would be -- profit maximisation is always the goal. As such, there is a tendency here to focus only on giving driving lessons that would allow teens to get a license -- that is, the minimum competency level.

Humans have been driving for close to a century now, and this experience has resulted in much scientific data. Fortunately, humankind has learned from both its good and bad driving lessons, and the result is that there is now a more scientific approach to driving theory and practice.

by: Stephanie Chandler

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