Survey of driving by disqualified and suspended drivers in Western Australia

The aim of the survey was to determine the extent of driving by persons who had had their driver's licence disqualified or suspended. Replies were received from 1313 (38.6 per cent) of 3404 drivers who were invited to complete a short questionnaire. The key finding of the survey was that 35.8 per cent of the respondents admitted to driving at least once while under disqualification. For work purposes, 15.7 per cent drove from one to five times, 8.9 per cent from six to 99 times, and 8.8 per cent drove 100 times or more. For family and social activities the corresponding figures were 20.7 per cent, 6.6 per cent, and 4.9 per cent respectively. Consistent with previous research, people who drove while disqualified generally indicated that they drove as little as possible or in a safe, law abiding manner. Some 85.2 per cent of the respondents approved of licence disqualification for serious offences, and 60.1 per cent of the drivers considered that their own licence disqualification was fair. The results showed that persons with one or more previous disqualifications were especially likely to drive while disqualified. They were also more likely to take steps to avoid the police catching them, and not to carry their licence when driving. Drivers who had, or would be obtaining a photographic driver's licence, had more favourable attitudes towards traffic safety and were less likely to drive while disqualified than drivers who did not support photographic driver's licences. Similar findings applied to drivers who usually carried their licence when driving. With respect to extra-ordinary licences, 60 (28.8 per cent) of the respondents who obtained such a licence admitted driving outside the conditions of their licence. A number of proposals to reduce the problem of unlicensed driving are discussed.

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• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/26087078
• Authors:
  • Smith, I
  • Maisey, G
• Publication Date: 1992-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 88-102
• Serial:
  • Road and Transport Research
  • Volume: 1
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: ARRB
  • ISSN: 1037-5783

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Behavior; Crimes; Data collection; Drivers; Law enforcement; Suspensions; Work trips
• ATRI Terms: Attitude; Data collection; Driver behaviour; Journey to work; Law enforcement; Licence suspension; Offence
• Subject Areas: Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01405865
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ITRD, ATRI
• Created Date: Aug 23 2012 11:14PM