YDS Program Assessment

Youth Drive Safe
Program Assessment

Introduction

In 2008 a school based Youth Drive Alive program was implemented in rural areas of Central Queensland.  The program was composed of training sessions covering:

  • Program introduction
  • The road rules (giving way)
  • The road rules (signs, marking and general rules)
  • Alcohol and other drugs
  • Road safety is no accident
  • Spinal injuries and awareness
  • Crash factors
  • Road aggression and risk management
  • Buying a car and hazard perception

The course was held over a five month period, commencing in April 2008.  Over 320 students from various schools participated in the program, a majority of which were from Year 11.  Session delivery was provided by 32 facilitators who represented key stakeholders including Queensland Transport, Queensland Police, Queensland Fire and Rescue, Spinal Education Awareness Team (SEAT), Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs Service (ATODS) and the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ).

In addition to the above mentioned sessions, over 130 students who were located in regions which did not have access to a driving school were offered a practical driving component.

The training package provided evaluation tools to assess initial awareness of road safety, participant’s attitudes at both the beginning and end of the program, road safety campaign awareness and individual sessions.  While evaluation data was obtained from approximately half of the participating students, it only assessed the Alcohol and other drugs session and the overall program.

Alcohol and other drugs session

Alcohol and other drugs session evaluation data was collected from three of the participating schools, or 56 students.  Responses are as follows:

When you gain your licence, will the topic discussed influence your driving?  If so in what way?

Of the 56 evaluating students, 48 provided responses to this question as follows:

  • 45 said it would positively influence their driving
  • 3 said the program would not influence their driving (1 of these because it was never their intention to drink and drive anyway)

How do you believe this course can be further improved?

Of the 56 evaluating students, 22 suggested course improvements as follows:

  • 3 asked for movies
  • 3 asked for case studies
  • 14 asked that the session be more interactive (with a better slideshow)
  • 1 asked for all aspects to be improved
  • 1 said it was too depressing

Evaluation on the overall reaction, workshop content, presenter and workshop pace are charted as follows:

Overall program evaluation

Overall program evaluation data was collected from five of the participating schools, or 97 students.  It is noted that the students who evaluated the overall program were the same ones who had access to the practical driving component.

The mix of males and females was fairly even.  Of the total number of students who participated in the survey, 27% did not have a licence with 58% holding ‘Learners’ and 13% holding ‘Provisional’ licences.  39% of those who held licences had accessed driving lessons.

Only 57% of students discussed the program with their parents, however 98% of parents were supportive.

The minimum grading students gave the course was ‘Good’ with the majority rating it ‘Very Good’.

While only 62% completed all of the Youth Drive Alive program courses, 97% of participants would recommend the course to their peers.

The most popular session was the practical driving component, which received no negative feedback, and theory was the least popular.  The Ripple Effect DVD was well received with most students appreciating the real life implications depicted in the video.  While most students did not seek additional help, 17% of those who answered this particular question sought practical driving assistance.  When asked if the government should provide more assistance to remote areas 48% of those who responded said that it should provide more driving schools, courses and education on highway and dirt road driving.

Students were also asked to suggest improvements to the course, the responses are tabled below.

Summary

A majority of students rated the Alcohol and other drugs session as positive and one which would positively influence their future driving.

The overall course was rated as positive and participants stated they would recommend it to other students.  The practical driving component was the most popular of all sessions and theory the least popular.

While these results are encouraging it would be valuable to have a more comprehensive evaluation which included students who did not have the practical driving experience and a capture of thoughts on the other sessions.  It would also be beneficial to undertake another survey of participating students in 12 months time to see if they felt their driving had improved as a direct result of this course.

It was interesting to note that one of the teachers completed an evaluation form.  This teacher was very enthusiastic about the program and the opportunities it provided his students.

Please note that data collected on the RACQ course registration forms was personal and therefore not tabulated.