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DDC Group
1121 Spring Lake Drive
Itasca, IL 60143
Phone: (800) 621-6244
Fax:(630) 775-0360
E-mail: trainadmin@nsc.org

Defensive Driving Courses History Timeline


The Roadway, Driver, Vehicle and the Defensive Driving Course

Until the invention of the wheel, humans were limited in the duration and distance of traveling.  With broader travel and more choices of travel methods, life and safety also became more complicated.
Starting From 396 BC- Year 1984

396 BC
Camillus gave women unrestricted rights to drive and own chariots in Rome.

50 BC
Julius Caesar prohibited downtown parking to relieve congestion and also established one-way streets.

1660
King Charles II of England issued this decree “Whereas the excessive numbers of hackney coaches in the city of London are found to be a nuisance, the streets and highways being thereby made impassible and dangerous; we command that no person or persons permit or suffer said coaches to stand or remain in any of the streets.”

1757
Boston passed an ordinance against “fast driving” — no faster than a foot pace.

1760
The first one-way streets in the United States were established in New York City.

1793
The first turnpike was begun between Philadelphia and Lancaster, PA.  It was 62 miles long.

1796
The first macadam road in the US was completed at a cost of $7,500 per mile.

1805
The first self-propelled, steam-powered vehicle was developed in the United States. Built by Oliver Evans, the “Orukter Amphibolos” was used to dredge the harbor in Philadelphia. (French army officer Nicholas Joseph Cugnot built a similar vehicle in 1769.)

1817
Baltimore was the first American city to install streetlights.

1835
The Highway Act of 1835 passed into law the British custom of keeping to the left side of the road. Later, the ruling applied to motor vehicles in the Motor Car Act of 1904.

1886
Daimler built the first gasoline-powered car.

1889
The first recorded traffic death in the United States occurred in New York City when Wall Street real estate dealer Henry H. Bliss stepped off a trolley car at 74th Street and Central Park West. He had turned around to help a lady down the steps when he was struck and run over by an electric automobile passing the trolley.

1895
The Duryea Brothers beat the Olds Brothers in the first Chicago Road Race.

1896

  • England passed a law prohibiting any power-propelled vehicle to travel the highway faster than 4 mph and required the vehicle to be proceeded by a man with a red flag.
  • The first recorded sales of an automobile in the United States occurred. Built by Charles and Frank Duryea, the gasoline-powered vehicle was purchased by a Massachusetts man. The Duryea brothers continued making automobiles into the early 1900s.

1899
President William McKinley was the first US president to ride in an automobile.  It was a Stanley Steamer.

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Roadway, Driver, Vehicle and Defensive Driving Course History, Continued…

From Year 1985-Current Year 2008

1985

  • The NSC began offering FLI Learning Systems Inc.’s DDC-Coaching the Experienced Driver and Coaching the Professional Truck Driver.

  • DDC-II was updated and renamed to DDC-4.

  • The “Center for Driver Training – Advisory Committee” was renamed “Driver Improvement Programs - National Advisory Committee”.

    1986

  • The 20,000,000th student graduated from DDC.

  • The second edition of DDC Motorcycle Module was released.

  • DDC-Professional Truck Driver was introduced.

  • FLI Learning Systems Inc. and DDC introduced their first co-venture program, DDC-Coaching the Mature Driver.

  • New York State approved DDC-6 for point reduction and insurance discount.

  • The second edition of DDC Alcohol Program was introduced.

  • The audio DDC self-instruction program was revised.

  • The “Driver Improvement Programs - National Advisory Committee” was renamed “Driver Improvement Programs International Advisory Committee”.  G. Lincoln Sidwell
    of the Columbus Area Safety Council in Columbus, Ohio became the sixteenth Chair of the “Committee”.

  • U.S. Department of Transportation passes the Commercial Driver’s License Act, requiring all professional truck and bus drivers to possess a “CDL”.

    1987

  • DDC-Straight Truck for truck drivers who do not operate tractor-trailers was introduced.

  • DDC-Coaching the School Bus Driver was introduced.

  • DDC Motorcycle was redesigned and introduced specifically for Florida State.

  • Robert A. Draper of the Texas Safety Association in Austin, TX was the seventeenth Chair of the “Committee”.

    1988

  • The 25,000,000th student completed DDC.

  • DDC-4 was totally revised, with offering ease of translation to meet the needs of slow readers.

  • DDC-PTD-Independent Training Program was introduced as a self-study program for tractor-trailer operators.

  • Chrysler became the first domestic automaker to put air bags in certain models as standard equipment.

    1989

  • NSC introduced DDC-Coaching the Transit Bus Operator and the video version of the DDC self-instruction course.

  • Valvoline and CBS Entertainment approached the Driver Improvement Program for help with the third National Driver’s Test.

  • All vehicles manufactured in Canada were required to have automatic daytime running lights.

  • Jack Smith of the Canada Safety Council in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada served as the eighteenth Chair of the “Committee”.

    1990

  • NSC renamed the DDC Accident Prevention Formula to the DDC Collision Prevention Formula, so drivers would better understand that collisions are preventable.

  • DDC-Coaching the Experienced Driver was introduced in Spanish.

  • DDC-Attitudinal Dynamics of Driving was first introduced.

    1991

  • NSC introduced Coaching the Emergency Vehicle Operator, which included CEVO-Ambulance/CEVO-Fire/CEVO-Police.

  • DDC-Audio Self-Instruction Program was reintroduced in its 4th edition.

  • DDC-4 videos and workbooks became available in Spanish and a video became available in open caption for the hearing impaired.

  • NSC Introduced the DDC-IBM Computer-Based Instruction.

  • Chuck Schwarting of the Illinois State Police in Springfield, IL served as the nineteenth “Committee” Chair.

    1992

  • DDC-8/6, 6th edition, was introduced with videotapes available in open caption for the hearing impaired.

  • NSC introduced the new DDC-PTD Driver’s Notebook and a DDC-PC program.

  • DDC-Illinois, the first course designed to reflect one particular state’s needs and drivers was introduced for use in the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office Probationary Driver Licensing program.

  • DDC-4 was revised and released in the 3rd edition.

    1993

  • Honda became the first high-volume automaker to equip all of its cars with dual air bags.

  • The “Driver Improvement Programs – International Advisory Committee” was renamed the “Defensive Driving Courses International Advisory Committee” with Dewey Bullard
    of the New Mexico Driver Improvement Institute in Santa Fe, NM as the twentieth “Committee” Chair.

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