Is the Education of Driver Instructors in Norway in Line with the Technological Development?

The traffic accident rate in Norway has been declining for many years. Improved training, better infrastructure, and targeted control have reduced the number of accidents. This, as well as technological developments that have made cars safer, has led to fewer people dying in road traffic accidents. Nonetheless, road traffic is still considered a high-risk context. A two-year university degree is required to become an authorized Norwegian driving instructor. Thus, the education of driving instructors is of utmost importance for sufficient competence in this industry. However, previous studies have shown that trained driving instructors lack knowledge about new automated technology and have received few opportunities to utilize different technological systems during their education (Wigum and Sætren 2022). The study will explore how Nord University's curriculum is interpreted when it comes to the car's technological equipment. It will further aim to examine how teaching is organized in relation to current curriculums and various legal aspects of using new technology (Helde 2019). Thus, our research question is: Is the education of driver instructors in Norway in line with the technological development?

The study looked at current driver instructor education's approach to the use of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) in Norway. Four informants with key roles in education were interviewed. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to examine the data.

Keywords: Technology, Levels of automation, Human factors, Driving instructor, Traffic training.

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