EXPOSURE FACTORS IN ACCIDENTS AND VIOLATIONS OF YOUNG DRIVERS

FOR A PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF 2,800 DRIVERS IN SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN, A MULTIVARIATE PROGRAM CALLED MULTIPLE CLASSIFICATION ANALYSIS (MCA) EXAMINED A DOZEN EXPOSURE FACTORS (AMOUNT AND CONDITIONS OF DRIVING) IN RELATION TO NUMBDER OF ACCIDENTS OF ANY SEVERITY IN THE PAST YEAR, AND NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS PLUS WARNINGS. FOR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE FACTOR WAS A COMPOSITE MILEAGE ESTIMATE, FOLLOWED BY PERCENT OF DRIVING DONE AFTER MIDNIGHT VS. DURING DAYTIME. FOR BOTH GROUPS, THE SEVERAL EXPOSURE FACTORS TOGETHER ACCOUNTED FOR TWICE AS MUCH OF THE VARIANCE IN VIOLATIONS (17%) AS IN CRASHES (5% FOR YOUNG MEN, 9% FOR YOUNG WOMEN). EXPOSURE ACCOUNTED FOR MORE OF THE VARIANCE IN ACCIDENTS OF OLDER WOMEN (12%) THAN OF OLDER MEN (6%). FURTHER ANALYSIS FOUND THAT YOUNG MEN WHO WERE AGE 23-24, THOSE WHO WERE MARRIED AND LIVING WITH THEIR SPOUSE, WHO HAD ASSUMED NEW RESPONSIBILITIES, AND DRANK REGULARLY, DROVE MORE MILES PER YEAR. BUT SINGLE MEN IN THEIR LATE TEENS, LIVING WITH ROOMMATES, DID MORE DRIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT, AS DID MEN WITH POOR SCHOOL RECORDS AND DAILY DRINKING. THE PATTERN FOR WOMEN WAS SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT: SINGLE WOMEN LIVING WITH PARENTS DRIVE MORE MILES, AND MORE AT NIGHT. THESE RESULTS--COUPLED WITH THE HIGHER INFLUENCE OF EXPOSURE ON VIOLATIONS THAT ON CRASHES--SUGGESTED THAT SOME OF THE EXPOSURE EFFECTS COULD BE DUE AS MUCH TO THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO CHOSE TO DRIVE IN CERTAIN HIGHWAY ENVIRONMENTS, AS TO THE INHERENT DANGER OF THESE ENVIRONMENTS. /HSRI/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 59 Pp, Tabs, REFS
• Corporate Authors:

  Highway Safety Research Institute

  Huron Parkway and Baxter Road
  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48109

  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48109
• Authors:
  • Pelz, D C
  • SCHUMAN, S H
• Publication Date: 1971-4

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Drivers; Driving; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Gender; Human characteristics; Knowledge; Night; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver characteristics; Experience; Violations
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223545
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Research Institute
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 18 1971 12:00AM