One of the best things about my job is that I will be able to take training and actually get paid while I complete it!
New hires at Snohomish County are “encouraged” to take a defensive driving course, which has been whittled down to a mere two hours from the eight hours I remember back in telephone land.[1]
I think I understand the reason for this, without even asking anyone. Snohomish County will be able to reduce insurance risk by providing the training, but cannot necessarily justify paying every single employee for an entire workday spent on this activity. I’d wager that someone in the finance department ran a cost benefit analysis that compared the reduction in accident costs (insurance payouts, lost time at work, medical costs) against the cost of paying everyone for eight hours while they took the class, and found that 1) there was no discernible difference in accident payouts when the class was taught for eight versus two hours, or 2) there is no discernible relationship at all, so the class is offered to redirect everyone’s attention to this important topic, however briefly. After all, we are out in public driving around in vehicles that have large signs that read “Sue Me.”
The downside to the abbreviated class is that there is little engagement. There is no time for people to share experiences, or to ask questions that might take more than 10 words to answer, because the presenter is at full gallop to cover as much of the course material as possible in the two hour allotment. We actually covered only three of the ten chapters in the book that was provided, so I suppose that leaves the balance up to individual initiative.
Without the ability to share experiences with others (which can help both speakers and listeners think in new ways about their experiences), it seems to me that there is no reason to conduct this in a group setting at all. We could simply be given a reading assignment with a comprehension assessment quiz at the end of the reading.
In the past, I took defensive driving classes from New York State,[2] and I really enjoyed them because I always learned new things that usually surprised me, and which are not in the driving handbook you get when you get your driver’s license. So the two hour class (at SnoCo) was a letdown for me, because I was looking forward to more information considered at a measured pace.
Nonetheless, I am very glad that Snohomish County provides this training, even if I have an opinion that the topic should be covered more thoroughly.
