The Hard Facts

The UK government undertook a major 6 year study between 1998 and 2006 providing an up-to-date picture of how ‘cohorts’ of learner drivers in Great Britain undertake driver training and testing, and of their subsequent experiences as new drivers. This period spanned the introduction of the HP live test in 2002 and reviews the results achieved during this period. It builds upon and further develops the evidence base from the smaller Cohort I study in 1988–89. The aims of the study were:

to investigate how people learn to drive, including the number of hours of tuition and practice, and to compare this to outcomes from the theory and practical driving tests;
to assess the impact of changes to the testing regime, specifically the hazard perception test which was introduced during the period of study;
to explore new drivers’ experiences and attitudes to driving; and
to identify their level of accident involvement over time.

Research has shown that Hazard Perception testing and training could account for a 11% reduction in collisions.

"Cohort II also provides the first persuasive evidence of a safety benefit associated with the introduction of hazard perception testing in the driver testing regime. The results suggest that the better people are at identifying hazards in the test, the better they are at avoiding accidents in future"

Here is the link to the full report Click here

Here is the Link to an award for the Hazard Perception test in the UK for Road Safety which provides further factual evidence. Click here