YOUNG DRIVERS' SEVERE AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS
THE PURPOSE WAS TO DETERMINE THE INCIDENCE OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING DRIVERS AGED 16 TO 21 IN WHICH A FATALITY OR SERIOUS INJURY OCCURRED. DATA ABOUT THIS AGE GROUP'S SEVEREST ACCIDENTS WERE COLLECTED TO BE USED AS A GUIDE FOR A CURRICULUM IN DRIVER EDUCATION, THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVE OF WHICH WOULD BE TO REDUCE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS. INDIANA STATE POLICE ACCIDENT RECORDS SHOWED 4185 DRIVERS AGED 16-21 WERE INVOLVED IN THESE SERIOUS ACCIDENTS IN 1968. SEVENTY-EIGHT PERCENT WERE MALES, AND TWENTY PERCENT HAD BEEN DRINKING. FEMALES WERE DRIVERS IN ONLY TWENTY-TWO PERCENT OF THESE ACCIDENTS. THEIR SPEEDS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WERE LOWER THAN THE MALE DRIVERS, LESS THAN 40 MPH AS COMPARED TO OVER 40 MPH. ONLY SIX PERCENT OF THE FEMALE DRIVERS HAD BEEN DRINKING. THE THREE MAJOR CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS FOR THIS AGE GROUP WERE: (1) CAR LEFT THE ROADWAY; (2) CAR COLLIDED WITH A FIXED OBJECT; AND (3) ONE CAR ENTERED FROM AN ANGLE AT AN INTERSECTION. MOST DRIVERS (SIXTY-FOUR PERCENT) WERE GOING TOO FAST ON A STRAIGHT, LEVEL, BLACKTOP, DRY ROAD, ON A HIGHWAY OR IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. THE DRIVER HAD NO PHYSICAL DEFECTS AND HE WAS A RESIDENT OF THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. IMPLICATIONS FOR CHANGES IN DRIVER EDUCATION CURRICULUM WERE DRAWN. FIRST, THE PREDOMINANCE OF MALES STRONGLY SUGGESTS MUCH MORE INTENSIVE WORK MUST BE DONE WITH BOYS THAN WITH GIRLS. THE NEED FOR SPECIAL CARE DURING DRIVING LATE AT NIGHT OR AVOIDED DRIVING DURING THESE PERIODS SHOULD BE EMPHASIZED. NEXT, THE EXTREME DANGER OF DRINKING AND DRIVING MUST BE REITERATED, FINALLY, THE OCCURRENCE OF A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THESE ACCIDENTS UNDER SEEMINGLY IDEAL DRIVING CONDITIONS STRONGLY SUGGESTS MAJOR DRIVER ERRORS, PROBABLY ALCOHOL OR EMOTIONALLY RELATED.
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Supplemental Notes:
- No 19, 8 Pp, 11 REF
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Corporate Authors:
Purdue University/Indiana Department of Transportation JHRP
Purdue University, School of Civil Engineering
West Lafayette, IN United States 47907-1284 -
Authors:
- Asher, W
- Shapiro, M
- Publication Date: 1971-9
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Adolescents; Crash analysis; Crash causes; Crash investigation; Driver training; Drivers; Drunk driving; Human characteristics; Speed; Traffic crashes
- Uncontrolled Terms: Driver characteristics
- Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00223719
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Apr 17 1972 12:00AM