Fake Driver Training and Crash Risk: Why Real Lessons Matter

A driving school certificate is a short document with a big promise. It says a new driver sat through the lessons, practiced behind the wheel, and learned the rules from a professional.

Most of the time, that promise is true. But when a certificate says someone was trained and they were not, the paper still looks the same. The difference shows up later, on the road, where the untrained driver shares lanes with everyone else.

This post looks at what the crash data says about new drivers, what research says about whether driver education helps, and what real cases show about licenses and certificates handed out without the training or testing behind them.

New drivers already carry the most risk

Even with full, honest training, the first years of driving are the riskiest. The numbers from federal agencies and safety researchers are clear:

• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that "teen drivers have crash rates over 4 times those of drivers 20 and older per mile driven."
• IIHS also reports that in 2024, "2,899 teenagers (ages 13-19) died in the United States from crash injuries."
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that "2,320 people were killed in crashes involving a teen driver in 2024."
• The CDC says that in 2020, "every day, about eight teens died due to motor vehicle crashes," and that crash risk "is particularly high during the first months of licensure."
• The CDC also estimates that teen crash deaths in 2020 resulted in about $40.7 billion in medical costs and lives-lost estimates.

So the starting point is a group that is already at high risk. Training is one of the tools families, schools and states use to bring that risk down. A fake certificate removes that tool while making it look like it is still there.

Does driver education actually reduce crashes?

This is where honesty matters. The research is mixed, and it is fair to say so.

The cautious view. IIHS states that "formal evaluations of U.S. high school driver education programs indicate little or no reduction in crashes per licensed driver." IIHS also warns that skid control and other advanced skill training "seem to increase crash risk," possibly because young drivers become overconfident.

The Nebraska study. In 2015, researchers at the University of Nebraska Lincoln published a large study in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention (Shell, Newman, Córdova-Cazar and Heese). According to the university's summary, it followed more than 150,000 teen drivers. Teens who had not completed driver's education were:

• "75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket"
• "24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident"
• "16 percent more likely to have an accident"

The full paper compared teens who took driver education with teens who qualified through a parent signed practice log instead.

The Oregon and Manitoba study. A 2014 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety report looked at programs in Oregon and Manitoba. In Oregon, it found a "4.3% statistically-significant lower incidence of collisions" and a "39.3% statistically-significant lower incidence of traffic convictions" for teens who took driver education. The authors called the overall effects "positive but modest," and noted that the groups being compared were different in some ways at the start.

Source	Year	What it found
IIHS review of US high school programs	Ongoing	Little or no crash reduction per licensed driver
Nebraska (Shell et al.)	2015	No driver ed: 16% more likely to crash, 75% more likely to get a ticket
AAA Foundation, Oregon	2014	4.3% fewer collisions, 39.3% fewer convictions

What does this add up to? Training is not a magic shield. But the larger and more recent studies point toward fewer tickets and somewhat fewer crashes for teens who actually finish a course. That benefit only exists if the training happened. A certificate for training that never took place delivers none of it. For more on the policy side, see Should Driving Laws Change? The Debate Over Licensing Age, Driver's Ed and Adult Training.

Real cases: licenses and certificates without the training

These cases show that "trained" and "tested" on paper do not always mean trained and tested in real life.

California DMV bribery, San Diego area (2014). The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California reported that a former examiner at the El Cajon DMV office pleaded guilty after he "falsely entered 'passing' scores for both written and behind-the-wheel tests." The scheme "produced more than 100 fraudulent driver's permits and licenses," including "regular (Class C) and commercial (Class A) driver's licenses." Applicants "paid more than $50,000 in total bribes," and the office said "all 30 of the defendants" had pleaded guilty.

California DMV records altered (2022). The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California reported that a former DMV employee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery after changing records so applicants appeared to have passed commercial license tests they had not passed, and in some cases had not taken. Commercial license fraud is covered in more depth in CDL Training and Test Fraud: Real Cases and What They Teach.

Washington driving school (2021). KOMO News reported that a Seattle area driving school was shut down by the state Department of Licensing for taking money to pass people who never took a driver's test. A KING 5 investigation reported that at least 2,000 applicants allegedly received fake passing grades. Neither report described criminal charges.

Michigan driver education providers (2022). The Michigan Department of State suspended a driver education provider that "issued certificates of completion to students who did not attend or complete course requirements," and said it would seek revocation of the provider's certificate. A month earlier it took the same kind of action against another provider for the same type of problem. In that case the state said it "cannot issue certificates to students who participated in the courses," which left some families having to start over.

In every one of these cases, someone ended up with a document that said more than was true. And in most, those people were already driving before anyone found out. For more cases focused on certificates, see Driving School Certificate Fraud: How Fake Completion Certificates Happen and How to Stop Them.

Why it matters to insurers

Insurers reward training because they expect trained drivers to be safer. NJM, for example, offers a driver training discount in some states for drivers under 21 who complete set classroom and behind-the-wheel hours, and says "documentation is required." GEICO offers defensive driving discounts in many states and says that in many of them you can "submit a copy of the course completion certificate online."

Here is the reasoning, not a reported loss figure: when a discount is given on a certificate for training that never happened, the insurer is pricing a lower risk than it is actually carrying. The premium it gives up was meant to match safer driving that does not exist. Across many policies, that gap is paid for by everyone else in the pool. Insurers have every reason to keep rewarding real training. What they need is a quick, low cost way to confirm a certificate is real. See How Insurance Companies Check Driver's Ed Certificates (and How They Could Do It Better).

Why it matters to families

For parents, the stakes are more personal. Paying for driver education is a safety decision. If a school cuts corners, the family loses both the money and the protection they thought they bought. And if a state later voids a certificate, a teen may need to redo the course or test.

Simple steps help:

• Choose a school that is licensed by your state. See How to Find a Licensed Driving School in Your State.
• Ask how many behind-the-wheel hours your teen will get, and keep a record of each lesson.
• Ride along after lessons and see what your teen can actually do.
• Keep the certificate and make sure it can be checked.

How checkable certificates help

A certificate that anyone can check online makes it harder to sell paper without the training. RoadVerified lets licensed driving schools issue certificates with a code and QR that parents and insurers can confirm at check a certificate. Schools can claim your free listing a free listing, and insurers can learn more at RoadVerified for insurers. It does not replace state oversight. It just makes the honest certificate easier to trust.

FAQ

How much more likely are teen drivers to crash?

IIHS reports that teen drivers have crash rates over 4 times those of drivers 20 and older per mile driven. The CDC notes the risk is especially high in the first months after getting a license.

Does driver education really reduce crashes?

The evidence is mixed. IIHS says US high school programs show little or no crash reduction per licensed driver. A 2015 Nebraska study found teens without driver's ed were 16 percent more likely to crash, and a 2014 AAA Foundation study in Oregon found 4.3% fewer collisions for trained teens.

Have people really gotten licenses without taking the test?

Yes. In a 2014 California case, federal prosecutors said a former DMV examiner entered false passing scores, producing more than 100 fraudulent permits and licenses, and all 30 defendants pleaded guilty. In 2021, a Washington driving school was shut down for passing people who never took a test.

Why do insurers care if a driving certificate is fake?

Insurers give discounts because they expect trained drivers to be safer. A discount on a fake certificate prices in a lower risk that is not real, so the insurer collects less premium than the risk calls for.

How can parents make sure training is real?

Pick a state licensed school, track each lesson, ride along to see progress, and keep a certificate that can be verified online.