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DEAM Email to Gail Treglia: From: info@godeam.com [mailto:info@godeam.com] Dear Ms. Treglia, Here is the review of the new curriculum for the driver improvement program. It was a very difficult task. Here are some of the concerns:
The program appears to be written with the expectation that all drivers attending have anger management issues and aggressive driving behavior issues. The course wants the driver to recognize “higher motivations in driving, like fairness, civility, morality, altruism, religion, or spirituality.” Yes, that is actually in the curriculum. Some of the information in the course may have been taken from other sources without complete review. There is a statement in the course as follows (verbatim): “Competitive types (you know who you are) should not try to prove themselves on heavily traveled thoroughfares — save that enthusiasm for weekend romps on your favorite back roads.” Are we honestly to assume that this is good advice for drivers?! There is not much flow in the program. Writing style seems to vary throughout the course. Some sections seem to be written in everyday language, while other sections appear to have come directly out of a text book. Some individual taking the program are not going to understand a good portion of it, especially young persons and individuals who have English as a second language. The information in the course that relates to actual driving is very limited. As a result, it would seem that the included information on laws should be the most important to a driver. This is not the case. As an example, there is a section on wildlife on the roadways but nothing on school zones. Aren’t more people apt to go through a school zone than to see wildlife on the roadway? With so many activities designed for group discussion it will be difficult to complete the entire curriculum in 8 hours. The nine questions for group discussion on alcohol are especially technical and could not easily be discussed in a short period of time. Most of the activities require worksheets to be completed by the participants. Some individuals will not be able to complete these sheets due to various reasons…not able to read…not able to understand the instructions... There are other issues that could be documented here, but it would be best to review the curriculum for additional information, as there are many comments listed there. Please see the attached Word (.doc) file for those detailed comments. Final Note: The DEAM Review Team was exasperated by the fact that this curriculum was sent for review as the “final” draft. Thank you, Email response from Phyllis McDonald (Course Reviewer - Johns Hopkins University): From: mcdonald@jhu.edu Gail who are these folks? Need to know whether or not to take them seriously DEAM email reply to Gail Treglia: From: info@godeam.com [mailto:info@godeam.com] Ms. Treglia, The message below was sent to DEAM's email - we are assuming that Phyllis McDonald intended to send this to your attention. DEAM respectfully requests to be copied on your reply to Dr. McDonald (at info@godeam.com) as her inquiry relates directly to our association. Also, when should we expect to receive MVA feedback to our comments on the "new" curriculum? Thank you, Email response from MVA (Thomas Liberatore): From: tliberatore@mdot.state.md.us Thank you for the comments that you and other DIP stakeholders have provided. While we acknowledge that changing such a vital and important program can at times be a very intense process, it is encouraging to see that so many of you are committed to establishing an effective program. At this time, the MVA will be reviewing the comments that we have received and formulating them into an updated draft. Gail will be providing further details on our progress as we review the comments and update the document. Also, the MVA will be contacting various DIP providers over the next several days to arrange times to visit and observe DIP classes. Our goal is to evaluate the current methodology for teaching the DIP program and obtain additional feedback. Thanks you again and we look forward to working with you on this important issue. Thomas Liberatore, MS |
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