New Driver Challenge 

KEY THEMES IN THE NEW DRIVER CHALLENGE

The GAAP Safety New Driver Challenge is best understood as a woven cloth.  Much like a colorful scarf, the Challenge weaves safe driving themes through an easy-to-read narrative.  Each article weaves different pieces into a "Challenge" for the new driver to focus on specific habits that build a lifestyle of safe driving.  The following is a description of the major themes. 

GENTLENESS: Gentleness is the first element of the GAAP Acronym. The automobile is probably the single most powerful device people use. It's a tremendous source of convenience, yet it has the destructive power of a bomb. All too often, we are in a hurry when we get into the car. We even delay departure, thinking we can make up for lost time driving. 

The Challenge articles illustrate that aggressive driving can save little time and increase the likelihood of a collision. They also describe strategies for exercising Gentleness before and during a driving event. Finally, we illustrate how being gentle behind the wheel reduces stress and enables the driver to be more aware and responsive to other not-so-gentle drivers.

INTENTIONALITY: Intentionality is the antidote to complacency. Complacency in driving is attributable to inexperience, overconfidence, and familiarity with routes. Among teen drivers, complacency often develops during the first few independent drives. As complacency grows, resistance to distraction decreases, and chance-taking increases. The Challenge offers strategies for combating complacency by intentionally developing specific safety habits.  

NEVER, ALWAYS, ONCE:  Any collision is a one-time event caused by negligence by at least one of the involved parties.  Most, if not all, collisions occur because at least one driver did something that should never be done.  A driver rolled a stop sign, went too fast, rushed a traffic light, followed too close, or allowed themselves to be distracted.  Stop signs rolling, traffic lights rushing, and tailgating are all habits that develop due to complacency.  Developing habits that counteract complacency requires knowledge and focus.  These articles provide knowledge and guidance on how to focus. 

In the Challenge articles, we teach drivers to develop lists of things never to do and things to always do.  We further illustrate how once doing what should never be done, or failing once to do what must always be done, can become the one time that leads to a collision.  We help drivers recognize that if they never rush a traffic light, they will never cause a collision because they did.  Conversely, if a driver makes exceptions, even rare exceptions, one of those exceptions may result in a crash.

ANTICIPATION: In the Challenge articles, we encourage the development of anticipation skills.  This means considering what can go wrong, even in the absence of direct evidence.  We explain how to combine "What If" thinking with "Never Do" habits to explain why one should never assume the green light means you have the "right of way."  Developing critical Anticipation skills can help new drivers rapidly advance their driving safety.

IMPULSE CONTROL:  Impulsive behavior is the root cause of some of the worst teen crashes.  The Challenge series links impulsive behavior that leads to reckless driving to common habits such as running red lights and rolling stops.   Again, tying the Never, Always, Once logic, we provide practical guides to building habits that promote impulse control. 

OTHER-CONSCIOUSNESS: As noted above, an automobile, when misused, can become a highly destructive device.  Collisions damage or destroy property, health, and life.  Often, the driver escapes a collision unscathed while passengers, other drivers, or pedestrians suffer life-changing injuries or death.  Challenge articles review stories of how families and individuals are affected by the actions of careless or reckless drivers.  Each account encourages drivers to protect themselves from regret over an avoidable tragedy.