IMPROVED DRIVER CURRICULUM (PHASE 1 - STUDENTS' ATTITUDES)

THE ATTITUDES OF YOUNG PEOPLE TOWARD AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY HAVE BEEN STUDIED. AN ORIGINAL AND NEW APPROACH, THE STONE AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY TEST, HAS BEEN DEVELOPED FOR THIS PURPOSE. THE STONE AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY TEST WAS DEVELOPED TO MEASURE ON A QUANTITATIVE, NUMERICAL BASIS EACH OF THE FIVE AREAS OF AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY ATTITUDES: (1) THE ATTITUDE TOWARD THE CAR; (2) THE ATTITUDE TOWARD DRIVING; (3) THE ATTITUDE TOWARD INJURY INFLICTING CAPABILITY OF THE CAR; (4) THE ATTITUDE TOWARD SEAT BELTS; AND (5) THE ATTITUDE TOWARD LAWS AND REGULATIONS. THE DESIGN OF THE EXPERIMENT WAS TO SAMPLE BY A STATISTICALLY VALID PLAN: URBAN, SUBURBAN, AND RURAL AREAS OF NEW JERSEY; THIRD, FIFTH, SEVENTH, NINTH, AND ELEVENTH GRADES AND ELEVENTH GRADE WITH DRIVER EDUCATION TRAINING; AND MALE AND FEMALE. OVER FIVE THOUSAND STUDENTS TOOK THIS TEST. THE ATTITUDES OF YOUNG PEOPLE TOWARD AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY EXHIBIT A MARKED DETERIORATION IN THE SEVENTH GRADE, AT THE TIME WHEN THEY BECOME TEEN-AGERS. THERE ARE STATISTICALY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN THE ATTITUDES OF YOUNG PEOPLE TOWARD AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY, BASED UPON AREA, GRADE LEVEL, AND SEX. THE SAFE DRIVING ATTITUDES OF YOUNG PEOPLE AS WELL AS ADULTS CAN BE PREDICTED BY THE USE OF THE STONE AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY TEST. IT IS SUITABLE FOR USE ON A VERY LARGE SCALE AS THIS RESEARCH HAS DEMONSTRATED. THIS TEST CAN BE GIVEN TO ALL STUDENTS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE. BY DETERMINING THE CATEGORIES OF THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY IN WHICH THE STUDENTS ARE DEFICIENT, THE INDIVIDUAL DRIVER EDUCATION TEACHER COULD PREPARE A PROGRAM OF DRIVER EDUCATION SUITED TO THE NEEDS OF EACH INDIVIDUAL CLASS. BY AGAIN GIVING THE TEST TOWARD THE END OF THE COURSE, THE TEACHER WOULD BE ABLE TO DETERMINE WHICH STUDENTS NEED ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION AND THE AREAS IN WHICH THIS INSTRUCTION IS NEEDED. THE TEST CAN ALSO BE USED AS ONE OF THE MEASURES FOR SATISFACTORY COMPLETION OF THE MANDATORY DRIVER RE-EDUCATION PROGRAM. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • PROJECT NO: DE 71-001-(002)
• Corporate Authors:

  Newark College of Engineering

  323 High Street
  Newark, NJ  United States  07102
• Authors:
  • Stone, G P
• Publication Date: 1972-1

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 95 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Attitudes; Driver training; Gender
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222103
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 17 1973 12:00AM