do you have any data to back up these claims
Sure, but have you got any to back up yours, of course not....because there isnt any.
But heh, that doesnt stop all these people who have done the courses telling us it will make the world safer, who are they to stop a few facts getting in the way. Unfortunately the evidence says its just as effective as Brockie's polariser.
have a look at:
DRIVER TRAINING REVIEW
APPENDIX M
COVER SHEET
Defensive driving schools, Driving School, Driver safety program, CDTA, Melbourne, Australia, even though it is a private organization, it does speak looking at the facts
VicRoads Review of Driver Training Programs 7
A review of the literature found that various road safety authorities and researchers have been unable to find evidence of a link between car driving skills and road trauma. Driving skill deficiencies have been found relevant in less than 5% of crashes.
Post-licence driver training courses may be divided into three categories. These are:
• Defensive driving courses which aim to help any involved driver or rider avoid getting into critical situations;
• Advanced driving courses which aim to help any involved driver or rider cope with critical situations; and
• Driver improvement programs which specifically target accident or violation involved drivers.
Reviews of evaluation studies have found no evidence that either advanced or defensive driving courses reduce the accident involvement of those who attend.
Even when targeted at drivers over-involved in accidents no significant reductions in accident involvement results. Such training has occasionally been found to reduce traffic offence involvement but there is no reliable evidence that this translates into accident reductions or even persists in the long term.
It may be concluded that the road safety value of these particular programs is questionable.
Victorian studies of both novice and advanced driving courses also found no evidence of accident reductions.
A study of a mixed defensive/ advanced driver training course for novice drivers in Adelaide found no accident reduction benefits. This is consistent with evaluations of driver training/ education programs in New Zealand. Indeed, it has been found that following voluntary attendance at a skill-oriented, advanced driver training course in Sydney those trained recorded increases in traffic convictions, particularly for speeding. 8 This is a disturbing though not unexpected finding and is consistent with the findings of another Australian study and the findings of the largest driver training study ever undertaken (De Kalb County, USA).
New South Wales Review of Californian Driver Improvement Program for