An Assessment of North Carolina’s Driver Education Program: Students’ First Formal Lesson on Interacting with People on Bikes

<span style="font-weight: 400;">North Carolina&rsquo;s driver education program plays an important role in shaping the behaviors and attitudes of the state&rsquo;s novice drivers. This paper examines the North Carolina driver education program to understand how students are taught to interact with bicyclists. The research analyzed the North Carolina driver handbook, a textbook commonly used in NC classrooms, and sample DMV licensing questions. It examined the presence of important bicyclist safety-related content, presentation of driver responsibilities, and the language and tone of the content. Interviews with driver education instructors supplemented the written material, providing insight into the experience of those delivering the curriculum, and the challenges and opportunities that exist to make it more informative about how drivers and bicyclists can safely share the road.</span>