The 2026 Graduate Survey from Young Drivers of Canada reveals that graduates who completed training more than two years ago continue to apply predictive driving habits with significant consistency. Surveying over 1,000 graduates, the research shows respondents rated the statement "The driving skills I learned at YDC have helped me predict dangerous situations and avoid them" at an average of 4.6 out of 5, indicating durable retention of safety-focused behaviors.
Unlike traditional driver education emphasizing rules and test preparation, Young Drivers of Canada's Gold Standard curriculum focuses on cognitive habits including early hazard recognition, predictive scanning, and proactive space management. These principles, detailed in Young Drivers of Canada: Gold Standard Driver Education, are reinforced through structured habit formation rather than rote memorization. Graduates reported consistently applying skills such as anticipating other road users' actions, adjusting position before hazards escalate, scanning beyond immediate vehicles, and maintaining safe following distances.
The 2026 findings align closely with previous research documented in the Young Drivers Graduate Survey 2023–2025, which showed similar retention of hazard perception behaviors and resulted in an almost 97% collision-free or not-at-fault rate among graduates. This consistency reinforces that graduates internalize predictive driving habits that remain active during independent driving, supporting the organization's position that habit formation rather than test performance indicates true safety outcomes.
Graduates reported high confidence levels averaging 4.6 out of 5, with qualitative responses indicating this confidence stems from heightened awareness rather than overconfidence. Andrew Marek, CGO, noted that "confidence built on awareness is very different from confidence built on luck," describing how graduates report being calmer, more prepared, and less surprised on roads. Many graduates described avoiding collisions or near-misses by recognizing developing hazards early, with skills being applied almost daily rather than only during emergencies.
The survey findings have implications for driver training methodologies and licensing systems, suggesting hazard perception and predictive analysis should play greater roles in education standards. Building on this research, Young Drivers has introduced StreetSmart™, a cognitive assessment tool designed to identify how individual drivers perceive risk and process information, allowing training to be tailored to how drivers actually think and learn. Marek emphasized that "if we want safer roads, we need to measure and reward long-term behavior change — not just short-term test performance," with the survey providing evidence that habit-based, predictive training delivers lasting safety outcomes.
Young Drivers of Canada plans to use these insights to 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 tools designed to reduce collisions and improve road safety.
