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Rob Foss‚ Arthur Goodwin‚ Natalie O'Brien‚ Carol Martell‚ Eric Rodgman‚ University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center
Despite the widespread implementation of graduated licensing systems, teen driver crash rates continue to be much higher than those of drivers with several years of experience. A few North American studies of new drivers show steep month-to-month declines in young driver crashes during the initial months of driving. However, the reasons for this decline are not known. To develop effective programs to prepare young people to be safe, independent drivers, we need a better understanding of the insights or skills new drivers lack that contribute to their excessive crash involvement. The goal of this study is to document how the nature of crashes changes as new drivers gain experience over their first 18 months of licensed independent driving, with the goal of identifying the factors that underlie the sharp declines in crash risk over this period. This information should be highly useful in guiding future efforts to develop driver training approaches that can further reduce the high crash rates still found among teenage drivers.
Existing crash and driver licensing data will be examined to identify crash types that are most common among - and unique to - young novice drivers. These will then be charted to illustrate how these crashes, and the errors involved, change month-to-month following licensure. The study is being conducted using data from North Carolina, and may be replicated subsequently using data from another state to reflect the variability in driving environments in other parts of the country.
Last Revised on 07/01/2010
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