Learning to drive in accompanied driving system-psychological and educational aspects

There are a lot of activities world-wide, aimed at increasing road safety. According to the statistics, young novice drivers are at the highest risk of being involved in crashes, and more often than other age groups, cause danger on the road. A proper driving education of teenagers and young persons may contribute to a decrease of accident risk. One of the solutions is accompanied driving, which currently exists in 17 European countries, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. It allows a driver to start driver training before he or she has reached the legal age for receiving a driving license. Currently, a draft of national law concerning drivers, which introduces accompanied driving, is being considered in Poland. This study concerns drafting of the new regulations, and it constitutes a proposal of methodological and organizational solutions of accompanied driving, trainings and preparation of people participating in it in Poland. The study describes the role of accompanying person as a lay instructor and as a model for road traffic behaviour.