A BEFORE AND AFTER ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING STUDENTS OF THE DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE

AN AFTER-THE-FACT STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF THE DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE IN THE BALTIMORE AREA WAS UNDERTAKEN IN 1967. IMPETUS FOR THIS STUDY CAME IN PART FROM THE BALTIMORE SAFETY COUNCIL AND IN PART FROM THE MANY REPORTS OF SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT REDUCTION ATTRIBUTED TO SUCH COURSES AMONG VARIOUS SEGMENTS OF THE U.S. POPULATION. LACK OF CONTROLS IN THIS WORK IS CONSIDERED SO SERIOUS THAT CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE EFFICACY OF THE COURSE MUST BE WEAKLY DRAWN (ALTHOUGH THE AUTHOR DOES VENTURE A NEGATIVE OPINION). CERTAIN INTERNAL COMPARISONS, HOWEVER, ARE BELIEVED TO BE VALID. IN PARTICULAR THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF A CHANGE IN RESTRAINT SYSTEM USAGE, NUMBER OF INJURIES PER ACCIDENT (PERHAPS A FUNCTION OF PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM USAGE), OR ADMITTED CULPABILITY OF STUDENTS. FURTHER, NO SPECIFIC AGE, SEX, OR EDUCATIONAL LEVEL GROUPS SEEMS TO BE DIFFERENTIALLY AFFECTED BY THE COURSE. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT A CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT IS REQUIRED TO MEASURE COURSE EFFECTIVENESS IN SOME DETAIL. /AAP/

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 2, No 3, PP 175-188, 12 TAB, 3 REF
• Authors:
  • O'Day, J
• Publication Date: 1970-12

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention
  • Volume: 2
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0001-4575
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Before and after studies; Behavior; Defensive drivers; Driver training; Drivers; Prevention; Safety
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00221340
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 8 1971 12:00AM