New to the road: reducing the risks for young drivers

By: Herbert Simpson, Ph.D.

Date: Monday, 03. May 2010

Published by the Youth Enhancement Service University of California, Los Angeles.

This is an overview of the proceedings of the First Annual International Symposium of the Youth Enhancement Service (YES), held in June, 1995, called "New to the road: reducing the risks for young motorists." The YES is a part of the Brain Information Service of the University of California

The symposium, was organized and hosted by YES in conjunction with the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, under a grant provided to UCLA from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation.

The monograph is available for a cost of $30 US from:
Brain Information Service
UCLA School of Medicine, Box 951746
43-367 Center for the Health Sciences
Los Angeles CA 90095-1746
Tel: (310) 825-3417 Fax: (310) 206-3499

CONTENTS

Summary of key findings

Research and information needs, program and policy priorities
Herb M. Simpson

Magnitude and characteristics of the problem

Magnitude and characteristics of the young driver
crash problem in the United States
Allan Williams
Magnitude and characteristics of the young driver
crash problem in Europe
Divera Twisk

Causes of the problem

Experience-related factors

Relationship between experience and learning to drive
Jim McKnight
The role of experience in improving young driver safety
Alan Drummond

Age related factors

Adolescent development and driving
Charles Irwin
The relationship between lifestyle factors
and collisions involving young drivers
Doug Beirness

Prevention programs and policies

Driver licensing

Licensing systems for controlling the risks of young motorists
Dan Mayhew
Licensing practice and crash risk in the United States
David Preusser
Competency-based driver testing systems
Ray Peck

Driver training

What should be taught? Basic vehicle control skills or higher order skills
Nils Petter Gregersen
Prospects for improving driver training in the United States
John Palmer
Prospects for improving driver training in Europe
David Lynam

Prevention programs and policies: psychosocial approaches

Preventing risky lifestyle and problem behavior
Jean Shope
Curriculum development for the prevention of high-risk behaviors
Steve Sussman

ABSTRACTS

The following are short summaries of the papers listed above.

Research and information needs: program and policy priorities

Herb M. Simpson : Traffic Injury Research Foundation, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Collisions involving 16- to 19-year-old drivers have been a world wide concern for several decades. Some progress has been made in recent years. For example, the young driver death and injury rate from crashes has declined more than the death and injury rate for other age groups. Nevertheless , the death and injury rates from crashes remains much higher for the under-20 age group than for other groups. However, despite the fact that the causes of the problem are diverse and complex, solutions can still be found. To provide a forum for such initiatives, an international symposium of recognized experts was convened. The results are contained in these proceedings, which are divided into two major sections. The first part summarizes the key findings from the papers and related discussion, and identifies research and information needs as well as priority programs and policies for reducing the risks for young motorists. The second part contains the 14 formal papers presented at the Symposium.
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Magnitude and characteristics of the young driver crash
problem in the United States

Allan Williams : Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Arlington, Virginia

Motor vehicle crashes involving young, beginning drivers are a worldwide problem with common characteristics. In the United States, 16-19 year old drivers have a crash risk per mile four times that of older drivers. The crash risk for 16-year-olds is particularly high and 16-year-old females have more crashes per mile driven than 16-year-old males. About 40% of passenger-vehicle occupant deaths of 16- to 19-year-olds are passengers, and two-thirds of these are in vehicles driven by teenagers.

While only about 20% of driving for the 16-to 19-year-old group takes place at night (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) about 50% of their fatal crashes occur during these hours. Compared with older drivers, 16- to 19-year-olds are more likely to be in single-vehicle crashes, to make driving errors that contribute to the crash, to be going too fast, to have more passengers in the car. However, they are less likely to have positive blood alcohol concentrations. These characteristics are strongest for the 16-year-old group.
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Magnitude and characteristics of the young driver
crash problem in Europe

Divera Twisk : SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research, Leidschendam, The Netherlands

The young driver problem has been recognized in Europe since the 1960s. However, the major studies on this problem have come from the Australian and American countries. The European situation is far less documented. To further the discussion, this paper presents a first description of the situation in Europe without the intention of being complete. The following items are discussed: the magnitude of the problem and the similarities and differences between countries; the nature of young driver accidents in different European countries, including whether there are typical young driver accidents. These questions are addressed on the basis of existing data in research reports and in the International Road Traffic Accident Database (IRTAD).
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Relationship between experience and learning to drive

Jim McKnight : National Public Services Research Institute, Landover, Maryland

The superlatives widely applied to experience as a teacher are doubtless well deserved. Yet, while experience may be the best teacher, it can be an expensive and painful one. The challenge that faces the traffic safety community is finding ways to provide learning experiences that will yield the same benefits as those gained from driving, but without the same risk. One obvious step in this process is finding our just what it is that experience teaches.

This paper will attempt to summarize what we know of the relationship between experience and safety in motor vehicle operation.
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The role of experience in improving young driver safety

Alan Drummond : Drummond Research Pty Ltd., Melbourne, Australia The over involvement of young drivers in crashes is a large, intractable problem, and a public health issue. While exposure-reduction methods such as graduated licensing can reduce risk, the ability of the road safety system to reduce the risk of young driver crash involvement remains knowledge-limited. Addressing these limitations is the central focus of this paper.
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Adolescent development and driving

Charles Irwin : Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco

The majority of adolescents emerge from the second decade of life relatively unscathed by serious social, psychological or physical disability. Risk behaviors are largely responsible for the morbidity and mortality among the remaining significant minority of adolescents. These potentially health damaging behaviors, established during adolescence, often have lasting deleterious effects throughout the life span.

This paper reviews the prevalence, common antecedents and potential consequences of adolescent sexual activity, substance abuse, injury-related behavior (including driving behavior) and delinquency. It also explores the way these behaviors covary, the nature of adolescence itself and the theoretical constructs that provide a framework for understanding the covariation of risk-taking behaviors.
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The relationship between lifestyle factors and
collisions involving young drivers

Doug Beirness : Traffic Injury Research Foundation, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

This paper examines the role of social, psychological and behavioral factors - i.e., lifestyle - in risky driving and crash involvement among young drivers. Data from two longitudinal studies are used to illustrate differences in a series of lifestyle-related variables between young drivers who become involved in a motor vehicle crash and report driving after drinking.
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Licensing systems for controlling the risks of young motorists

Dan Mayhew : Traffic Injury Research Foundation, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

This paper describes several licensing systems and considers their potential for addressing the problem of young driver crashes. These systems include conventional, probationary and provisional licensing. A review of these systems provides the basis for an examination of the rationale for graduated licensing, a description of how a graduated licensing system might operate, and illustrations of how graduated licensing actually works in practice.
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Licensing practice and crash risk in the United States

David Preusser : Preusser Research Group, Inc., Trumbull, Connecticut

Youth driving has been a constant topic in highway safety for decades. A large body of knowledge has been accumulated. Most often, this knowledge has led to the conclusion that we should keep young drivers off the highway. Our most effective young driver countermeasures now are: state licensing laws which delay teenage licensure; teenage night driving curfews; and probationary licenses which suspend the license of a young driver at the first sign of trouble. All of these approaches, as well as the minimum age alcohol purchasing laws, have the effect of limiting teenage driving in general and/or high risk driving in particular. Approaches based on limiting exposure, while effective, limit the mobility of young persons and limit opportunities for driving experiences. What's needed is a new class of countermeasures that deal more directly with integrating new drivers into the traffic stream. Graduated licensing may provide the basis for these new approaches. This paper will not attempt to summarize the body of knowledge that has led to the present situation and the need for new approaches. Rather, it is a discussion of the problem from a much more personal perspective.
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Competency-based driver testing systems:
The California Driver Performance Evaluation Test

Ray Peck : California Department of Motor Vehicles, Sacramento, California

This paper describes the multiphase development and validation of an improved method of road-testing novice driver license applicants in California. Known as the Driver Performance Evaluation (DPE) test, the new test is shown to be more reliable an difficult than the standard DMV road test and also to discriminate between novice and experienced drivers.
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What should be taught? Basic vehicle control
skills or higher order skills

Nils Petter Gregersen : Swedish Road & Transport Research Institute, Link�ping, Sweden

Driver training is one of the most important measures to reduce accident involvement among young drivers. Traditionally, driver training has focused on vehicle control skills and traffic rules without reaching far enough in efforts to provide risk awareness and other higher order skills.

Driver training aiming at optimizing safety must be based upon an analysis of what factors and processes contribute to drivers' accident involvement. These factors may be described in three groups: the learning (skill acquisition) process, individual preconditions, and social influence.

The purpose of this presentation is to analyze these three groups of processes and to discuss their implications for driver training. One important conclusion is that we ought to put more effort into teaching higher order skills and risk awareness, and that it is very important that this is done through practical in-car training. Learner drivers must experience the dangers of driving, their own limitations, the influence of peers, etc. For this purpose, examples of in-car risk awareness are presented.
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Prospects for improving driver training in the United States

John Palmer : St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

A long and short-term forecast of the prospects for improving driver training in the United States is made at the conclusion of this work. In preparing to make the forecast, ingredients essential for improving educational programs are explored, a brief history of driver education in the United States is offered, and indicators of the current status of driver education are reviewed.
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Prospects for improving driver training in the Europe

David Lynam : Transport Research Laboratory, Crowthorne, Berkshire, U.K.

An overview of the current philosophies and practice of car driver training in European countries is given, with specific reference to the training and licensing systems in France, Germany and Britain. Evidence of the advantages of including compulsory training, extended accompanied driving, and practice without formal instruction, is examined.

The potential for improvement through greater emphasis on hazard perception and risk assessment, self-assessment of skills during training, and modification of attitudes to risk is discussed. An integrated process involving extended contact with novices through pre-driving education, theory and practical training, testing and post-test sanctions is considered to have the best chance of achieving a substantial improvement in the accident liability of novice drivers.
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Preventing risky lifestyle and problem behavior

Jean Shope : University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Michigan

This paper reviews adolescent substance-abuse prevention efforts and their results. Emphasis is placed on alcohol, the drug most commonly used by adolescents and one that is of special interest in regard to driving. Lessons learned from these efforts are summarized with a view to their applicability to adolescent driving behavior. Finally, some theoretical questions and research issues are raised which need to be addressed in the development of prevention strategies for adolescent driving. The driving behavior of young motorists is the focus of considerable interest because of the need and potential to reduce the high rates of crashes, injuries and death.
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Curriculum development for the prevention of high-risk behaviors

Steve Sussman : Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Methods development is the forgotten child of health behavior research. In particular, there is a paucity of curriculum development research. many people may consider curriculum develop as an art, not worthy of its own status as an area of research. Yet, in theory, empirical curriculum development - evaluating a curriculum as one develops it - can be a useful tool in the arena of increasing safe driving among young, new drivers, as well as in other contexts.

This paper provides the rationale for, and barriers against, engaging in empirical curriculum development. It also provides an example of one empirical curriculum development model. Finally, the paper provides a selective presentation of research on safe driving and on novel curriculum strategies which plausibly could counteract unsafe driving acquisition variables.
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