THE YOUNG DRIVER FOLLOW-UP STUDY: AN EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF HUMAN FACTORS IN THE FIRST FOUR YEARS OF DRIVING

A SAMPLE OF 13,915 DRIVERS LICENSED AT AGES 16 AND 17 WAS STUDIED; DATA INCLUDED DRIVING RECORD, BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION, ACCIDENT AND CONVICTION RECORDS, HIGH SCHOOL RECORDS, QUESTIONNAIRES, AND INTERVIEWS. THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS SHOWED LITTLE CHANGE IN THE FIRST FOUR YEARS OF DRIVING. THIS RESULT DOES NOT PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR INCREASING THE LICENSING AGE TO 18. THE ACCIDENT RATE ADJUSTED FOR MILEAGE DECREASED WITH INCREASING EXPERIENCE. LICENSE SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION WERE INEFFECTIVE IN KEEPING DRIVERS OFF THE ROAD. THE CITIZENSHIP GRADE IN HIGH SCHOOL WAS THE BEST PREDICTOR OF ACCIDENTS AND CONVICTIONS, BUT BIOGRAPHICAL DATA COULD NOT BE USED TO IDENTIFY ACCIDENT PRONE DRIVERS PRIOR TO LICENSING. THOSE WITH BEHIND-THE- WHEEL DRIVER TRAINING HAD BETTER DRIVING RECORDS, BUT ALSO MORE SOCIALLY DESIRABLE PERSONALITIES, INDICATING BIAS. HIGH ACCIDENT SUBJECTS WERE MORE RECKLESS, EMOTIONAL, INVOLVED WITH CARS, AND CHARACTERIZED BY SOCIAL DEVIANCY. /HSL/

• Corporate Authors:

  California Department of Motor Vehicles

  P.O. Box 11828, 2415 1st Avenue
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95813
• Authors:
  • Harrington, D M
• Publication Date: 1971

Media Info

• Pagination: 241 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash rates; Driver training; Drivers; Human characteristics; Problem drivers; Psychological aspects; Social factors
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver characteristics
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223914
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Literature
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 23 1973 12:00AM