DVSA National Standards, what are they?

"Here is the fifth in a series of articles I have written on the subject of driving instructor training, first published in The Intelligent Instructor magazine.
I hope you enjoy it."
With the DVSA announcing that the Part 3 will be replaced with a Standards Check-style assessment, this series of articles continues to explore how we train people to be driving instructors and the knock-on effects of this training on teaching people to drive and, ultimately, on road safety.
The last article followed on from the earlier ones in this series and considered what makes a great trainer. There are five essential communication skills: Rapport, Listening, Questioning, Feedback and Intuition. When you measure yourself against these skills, you will be able to self-develop and ensure you are delivering great lessons.
This article and the next two will focus on the DVSA National Standards.
Up until recently, there were three National Standards:
1. The DVSA National Standard for safe and responsible driving
2. The DVSA National Standard for developed driving competence
3. The DVSA National Standard for driver and rider training
Now, there are just two standards as the second one has been combined with the first one:
1. The DVSA National Standard for safe and responsible driving
2. The DVSA National Standard for driver and rider training
Where do they come from?
The DVSA National Standards are based on key projects from Europe over the past 30 years, notably:
· GADGET (Guarding Automobile Drivers through Guidance, Education and Technology).
‘Research in the field of driver behaviour was boosted in the late-90s through the EU GADGET project. Part of its research culminated in the development of a matrix which identified goals for driver education. This research was based on risk factors gleaned from novice driver accidents and on existing research which identified the operational, tactical and strategic levels of driver behaviour. The GDE matrix identifies 4 levels of driver behaviour: the operational, tactical, strategic and lifestyle/personality levels and the knowledge and skills required on each one (including risk factors and an ability to perceive one’s strengths and weaknesses at each level). Benchmarking the goals for driver education from the GDE matrix with most countries’ driver licensing systems leads to one basic conclusion: current driver training and testing focuses primarily on the lower levels of driver behaviour, namely the operational and tactical levels (vehicle control and driving in traffic), and fails to address the higher levels of behaviour (trip-related issues and the influence of personality and lifestyle). Another shortcoming is a failure to encourage the learner driver’s independent decision-making and self-evaluation capabilities.’
· MERIT (Minimum European Requirements for driving Instructor Trainers)
‘The MERIT project attempts to address the weaknesses identified in the GADGET report by recommending training and quality assurance of driving instructors based on a holistic approach for developing safe driving competencies, based on all levels and cells of the GDE matrix. Some of the training issues relate to psychological insight into learners and young adults; it should be stressed, however, that the future instructor does not have to be a fully qualified psychologist to be able to address these issues in training.
MERIT’s recommendations include training for driving instructors on the higher levels of the GDE matrix, and on a range of teaching methods, including coaching, to improve the effectiveness of driving tuition.’
· HERMES (High impact approach for Enhancing Road safety through More Effective communication Skills)
‘The HERMES project began in March 2007 and was finished in February 2010. Its main aim is to create a short 3-5 day training course for driving instructors to allow them to develop their ‘coaching’ skills. In addition, a number of coaching scenarios have been developed to enable instructors to coach in on-road training, track training and the classroom, and to meet a wide range of goals in the driver education process.
HERMES builds on a number of different EU projects in the driver training field which recognise the need for:
• less reliance on short-term instructional methods which tend to help learners to pass the driving test, and more focus on active-learning methods to prepare learners for solo driving and to foster ongoing learning after the test
• more focus on the higher levels of the GDE matrix in driver training (personality factors, self-awareness, emotions, different trip-related contexts for novice drivers and their motives for driving).
This project also comes at a time when various countries are optimising their driver training curricula and taking into account the goals outlined in the GDE matrix. These countries, while changing their curricula, have also identified a need for a corresponding change in the way driving instructors conduct the training.’
What is clear from these three projects is the influence on the DVSA National Standards, both for safe and responsible driving; and for driver and rider training. Both standards focus on the importance of a holistic approach to driver training that encompasses the higher levels of the GDE and also develops self-evaluation skills, so that newly qualified drivers will be able to make safe choices and decisions about their driving. In this way, driving cannot be seen as an isolated, skills-based task, but rather, as one that considers the specific purpose of the journey as well as the goals for life and skills for living of the individual carrying out the driving task.
My next two articles will each focus on one of the DVSA National Standards.
References:
EU GADGET Report
EU MERIT Report
EU HERMES Report

Susan McCormack