INDIANAPOLIS – Surprising statistics released Thursday showed that drivers younger than 18 who took driver’s education in Indiana were involved in close to four times as many accidents as their counterparts who did not receive formal driver training.

“I’m astounded,” said Rep. Phil Hinkle, R-Indianapolis. “Why do we even offer driver’s education?”

He was just one member of an interim legislative study committee on the issue who expressed shock at the counterintuitive statistics.

Sarah Meyer, director of public affairs for the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, told the committee that the agency looked at current drivers younger than 18. Of the 122,924 drivers, about 58 percent – or 71,932 – did not take driver’s education, while 41 percent – or about 51,000 – did.

The BMV then looked at moving violations and reported accidents by those drivers.

Nearly 5 percent of the teens who took driver’s education had one or more reported accidents, compared with 1 percent of the drivers without formal driver training.

Meyer cautioned the legislators that the numbers might be skewed because the teens who took driver’s education are allowed to get their permit at a younger age and hold the permit at least six months longer.

That means those youths have more time on the road to rack up violations and accidents.

While the statistics took center stage, it was clear through various presentations that legislators and others find Indiana’s driver’s education system to be fractured, antiquated and might not be getting the job done.

To start with, three separate state agencies have some role in the process.

The Department of Education administers the program within school districts and sets curriculum standards.

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute does the same thing for commercial driving schools. And the BMV sets up a waiver process for off-site skills testing.

The last time the curriculum was revised by the Department of Education was 1974, aside from adding an online component last year. And the standards for instructors at school districts are different from those at commercial driving schools.

Michael LaRocco of the Department of Education said he does not know how many school districts offer driver’s education because no one keeps the statistic.

The average cost for driver’s education at a school district is $330, with most of the programs costing between $300 and $400, he said.

John Bodiker of the Criminal Justice Institute said the average cost is similar for commercial driving schools – about $350 on average, with a low of $275 and a high of $460.

Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, chairman of the committee, believes the driver’s education duties should be consolidated under one state agency.

And several legislators suggested a uniform curriculum developed by the state.

Sherry Deane of the AAA Hoosier Motor Club encouraged an overhaul of the driver’s education system. She said it was created to teach basic skills, not reduce crashes.

She said the system has stayed essentially the same in Indiana for 30 years – and so has Indiana’s teen driving fatality rates.

Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, also said he doesn’t want to create more incentive in the law for students to take driver’s education until an overhaul is done showing the program is working.

Currently, teens who take driver’s education are eligible to get a license at 16 years and 6 months, while those who don’t must wait until 16 years and 9 months.

“Obviously what we have is not working,” Taylor said.

nkelly@jg.net