Steering in the Right Direction? Young Drivers and Road Trauma. We Need Restrictions on Night Driving and Peer Passenger Numbers for Novice Drivers

In Australia, more than a quarter of all fatal road injuries (27%) and hospitalizations (26%) occur in the age group 17 to 25 years, yet this age group comprises only 15% of licensed drivers. This editorial considers this issue, discussing the risk factors associated with newly licensed or novice drivers, then outlining the benefits of graduated licensing systems. The author contends that graduated licensing systems that include three stages, as well as late night and peer passenger restrictions, have shown significant reductions in fatal and injurious crashes involving young drivers. The author briefly considers the role of a road safety policy that would attempt to identify at-risk young drivers and then impose restrictions only on those drivers; this option is dismissed as unworkable because there is no reliable screening tests for at-risk drivers.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0025729X
• Authors:
  • Stevenson, Mark R
• Publication Date: 2005-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 102-103
• Serial:
  • Medical Journal of Australia
  • Volume: 182
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Australasian Medical Publishing Company
  • ISSN: 0025-729X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fatalities; Graduated licensing; Recently qualified drivers; Risk analysis; Risk assessment; Risk taking; Teenage drivers; Young adults
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01003891
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 7 2005 6:27AM