The 2026 Graduate Survey from Young Drivers of Canada indicates that students who completed the program more than two years ago continue to demonstrate lasting habits in hazard identification, predictive driving, and risk avoidance. The survey included over 1,000 graduates who finished training two or more years ago, showing they consistently apply core cognitive driving habits long after formal instruction ends. Respondents rated the statement about skills helping predict dangerous situations at 4.6 out of 5, underscoring the durability of Young Drivers' habit-based approach.
Unlike traditional driver education focusing on rules and test preparation, Young Drivers of Canada's Gold Standard curriculum emphasizes cognitive driving habits including early hazard recognition, predictive scanning, and proactive space management. These principles, outlined in Young Drivers of Canada: Gold Standard Driver Education, are reinforced through in-vehicle coaching and structured habit formation rather than rote memorization. Survey respondents frequently cited skills like anticipating other road users' actions, adjusting position before hazards escalate, scanning beyond immediate vehicles, and maintaining safe following distances.
The 2026 results align with insights from the Young Drivers Graduate Survey 2023–2025, which similarly found retention of hazard perception and predictive driving behaviors among recent graduates, resulting in an almost 97% collision-free or not-at-fault rate. These surveys reinforce that graduates internalize predictive driving habits that remain active well into independent driving, supporting the position that habit formation rather than test performance indicates safe driving outcomes.
Graduates reported high confidence levels averaging 4.6 out of 5 when asked if they felt more confident after completing the program. Qualitative responses show this confidence pairs with heightened awareness and lower stress rather than overconfidence. Andrew Marek, CGO, noted that confidence built on awareness differs from confidence built on luck, with graduates describing being calmer, more prepared, and less surprised on the road.
Many graduates described avoiding collisions or near-misses because they recognized developing hazards early, noting these moments occur frequently rather than just in rare emergencies. Marek emphasized that one of the most telling insights is how often graduates said these skills help them almost every day, demonstrating true habit formation where training becomes automatic and safety becomes proactive rather than reactive.
The findings reinforce that hazard perception and predictive analysis should play a greater role in both driver education and licensing systems. Building on this research, Young Drivers has introduced StreetSmart™, a cognitive assessment and personalization tool designed to identify how individual drivers perceive risk, process information, and respond to developing hazards. This allows training to be tailored to how drivers actually think and learn. Marek stated that to achieve safer roads, we need to measure and reward long-term behavior change rather than just short-term test performance, with the survey providing clear evidence that habit-based, predictive training delivers lasting safety outcomes.
Young Drivers of Canada plans to use these insights to further expand advanced training, refresher programs, and technology-enabled learning tools supporting lifelong safe driving behaviors. The organization has trained more than 1.4 million drivers across Canada using research-driven curriculum, in-vehicle coaching, and emerging cognitive and AI-powered tools designed to reduce collisions and improve road safety.
