The National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) comprises behaviour change courses offered to road traffic offenders instead of prosecution. This report presents an evaluation of the majority of these courses, to establish whether they changed behaviour, how long any change was maintained, what psychological mechanisms bring about the change, barriers to change experienced by attendees, and how the courses could be improved. Self-reported survey data on underlying attitudes and behaviours was collected before and after courses. Interviews and focus groups were used to gather detailed feedback from attendees.
Survey data was only usable for the National Speed Awareness Course due to low sample size mainly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It showed improved attitudes to speed and knowledge of limits, better engagement with road safety, and fewer hazardous driving events after course attendance. Some specific changes in self-reported speed choice were also observed suggesting specific information from the course was retained and used. These changes were retained two months after the course.
Attendees across all courses evaluated noted that trainers were very important in achieving change, as were the specific tips provided to help them identify specific triggers to offending when driving. Attendees were pleasantly surprised that the tone of the courses was not 'judgemental' and this approach helped people to move their self-image from someone who had been 'caught out' to someone who could benefit from challenging their driving behaviour.
Overall, the findings suggest that the courses are having a positive impact on the behaviours they target and are working through a range of mechanisms to produce this. While the quantity and form of data collected varies across courses, there are consistent findings of positive impact. Several potential improvements to courses are also suggested.
