About the Project
SKILLDRIVER is a project aimed at helping to reduce road casualties with new driver skills.
By exploring the "thinking" side of driving, it works on how you handle risk and decide what to do.
It explains why the "eyes-and-brain" skills are more critical to safety than the "hands-and-feet" ones, and how drivers can have far more control over the dangers they face on the road.
As often happens, the project emerged slowly in the early stages, and evolved more of itself than through any grand design:
| 1996-97 | - problem triggered spark of interest and some early ideas |
| 1997-98 | - prototypes of risk model and driving process |
| 1999-2004 | - research, and development of a structured set of skills |
| 2004May-Oct | - reviews with experts in driving and road safety |
| Oct | - initial Sense of Danger article published |
| Oct | - project workshop to "road-test" the core ideas |
| Oct | - decision to write up the new approach and skills as a "book" | 2005Jan-Mar | - online book loaded as pages on this website |
| Apr | - initial publisher interest | Aug | - publisher signed for printed book |
| 2006May | - Mind Driving book published - available from publisher |
| Sep | - public launch of Mind Driving |
| 2006-07 | - driving instructor feedback says Mind Driving also applies at Learner level |
| 2007Sep | - Essential Thinking Skills outline proposal to Driving Standards Agency |
| 2008Jan >> | - Essential Thinking Skills trials with driving instructors |
| Feb >> | - invitations to speak at IAM, RoSPA and ADI group meetings |
| Apr | - YoungDrivers - Adult Responsibility article |
| 2009Jan | - Learning to Drive - the Stubborn Truth article |
| Jul >> | - Young Drivers module included in talks for IAM, RoSPA and ADI groups |
| 2010May | - four day Mind Driving training event for instructors in Scotland |
In the beginning...
The initial trigger for the project came from a growing awareness that, beyond the very basics, the real skills of "safe driving" were not easy to explain or to learn.
The first fruitful step came in a sudden realisation that there are just three root causes of danger on the road. And this developed into what became the Sense of Danger model of risk.
From that point, the work was propelled by a fascination with how these specific elements of risk can be controlled by the driver. Eight defined skills were found to be involved, but the alarming finding was that the most crucial ones are not taught. And so a very different approach began to take shape.
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Reviews of the work were carried out along the way with various organisations and individuals, and these gave immense encouragement, while also confirming that something vital was emerging. Some of the comments are on the What People Say page. To test the ideas further, a Workshop was run in October 2004 with some very experienced drivers. And this showed an exceptionally high acceptance and need for the new approach. |
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The Sense of Danger article was written for some Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) Local Groups in late 2004, and sparked a very positive reaction as a sharp jolt for drivers' thinking.
The early signs were that interest was keenest among the higher skilled drivers, including instructors and examiners. This group, with an already good focus on driving, is probably about 2-3 million drivers in the UK - the top 10%.
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For the wider population, there is a difficult problem. Enjoyment of driving has been in steady decline for a decade or more. And we strongly believe that danger rises when people lose interest in what they are doing. One of our hopes, therefore, is to revive an enthusiasm for driving - and a return to having faith in a fully rounded skill. Especially vital is to reach young drivers. The skills revealed in this project are invaluable for a long and crash-free driving career. |
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A concern also emerged, though, in this phase about how quickly change could be brought about on a large scale, and this was a factor in the decision to use the internet.
Beyond supporting individuals, we hope also to galvanise the return of trust in driver skill in the Government's road safety strategy. And to do this by showing a new way to approach driving ability, with a core of specific thinking skills and how they can be learned.
Overall, the aim is to inject some fresh energy into driver education as a practical route to reducing casualties. If that sounds ambitious... someone surely needs to be!
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Please Contact Us with any comments or queries on the project or this site.
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