EVALUATION OF MATURE DRIVER IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM HOME-STUDY COURSES

The California Legislature established the mature driver improvement (MDI) program through enactment of Assembly Bill 2610. This legislation required the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to establish program standards and curricula designed to update the driving skills and knowledge of drivers 55 years of age or older. The MDI course curriculum includes information on defensive driving, traffic laws, and the traffic safety effect of driver fatigue and health, among other topics. At present, all MDI courses are instructor facilitated (in-person courses), with the exception of one home study course that has been conditionally approved by DMV's Occupational Licensing Section pending an evaluation of its effectiveness. The primary inferential issue addressed in the present report is whether the home study course is less effective than in-person courses in reducing traffic fatal/injury crash and citation rates. Study conclusions suggest that the home study courses were no less effective than the in-person MDI courses in reducing subsequent overall fatal/injury crashes or total citations. Furthermore, neither home study nor in-person MDI courses appear effective in reducing fatal/injury crashes. For drivers with no recent prior citations, neither course was effective in reducing citations. For drivers with recent prior citations, both courses were effective in reducing citations. It is recommended that the department review current mature driver program curricula guidelines in light of the present study findings.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/about/profile/rd/r_d_report/Section_1/S1-157.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  California Department of Motor Vehicles

  Research and Development Branch
  P.O. Box 932382
  Sacramento, CA  United States  94232-3820
• Authors:
  • Berube, E
• Publication Date: 1995-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 37 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aged drivers; Defensive drivers; Driver improvement programs; Drivers; Evaluation and assessment; Fatalities; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Health; Impacts; Injuries; Motor skills; Traffic citations; Traffic crashes; Traffic regulations; Traffic safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Traffic laws
• Old TRIS Terms: Home study
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00726009
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: CAL-DMV-RSS-95-157,, HS-042 445
• Files: HSL, TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 24 1996 12:00AM