Applying Stafford and Warr's reconceptualization of deterrence theory to drug driving: Can it predict those likely to offend?

In December 2007, random roadside drug testing commenced in Queensland, Australia. Subsequently, the aim of this study was to explore the preliminary impact of Queensland's drug driving legislation and enforcement techniques by applying Stafford and Warr's [Stafford, M.C., Warr, M., 1993. A reconceptualization of general and specific deterrence. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30, 123-135] reconceptualization of deterrence theory. Completing a comprehensive drug driving questionnaire were 899 members of the public, university students, and individuals referred to a drug diversion program. Of note was that approximately a fifth of participants reported drug driving in the past six months. Additionally, the analysis indicated that punishment avoidance and vicarious punishment avoidance were predictors of the propensity to drug drive in the future. In contrast, there were indications that knowing of others apprehended for drug driving was not a sufficient deterrent. Sustained testing and publicity of the legislation and countermeasure appears needed to increase the deterrent impact for drug driving.     

The contribution of alcohol to night time crash risk and other risks of night driving

Many studies show that driving at night is more risky in terms of crash involvements per distance travelled than driving during the day. The reasons for this include the more prevalent use of alcohol by drivers at night, the effects of fatigue on the driving task and the risk associated with reduced visibility. Although the consumption of alcohol prior to driving occurs most commonly at night, drink-driving is not inherently a night time risk factor. This study decomposes the New Zealand risk of driving at night into risk associated with alcohol and risk associated with inherently night time factors. The overall risk associated with alcohol use by drivers was shown to decrease with increasing age for the most risky situation analysed (male drivers on weekend nights). Given the levels of drinking and driving on weekend nights, the overall effect of alcohol was shown to contribute almost half of weekend night time risk for drivers aged under 40 on lower volume roads, but to contribute little to overall risk on higher-volume roads, consistent with other research showing that higher-volume roads are not favoured by drinking drivers. Risk at night relative to risk during the day (excluding risk associated with drinking and driving) was shown to decrease with age. Roads with illumination at night are less risky at night relative to during the day than roads without illumination. The risks estimated in this paper reflect the behaviour of the road users studied and their prevalence on the roads under the conditions analysed.     

The contribution of a novel intervention to enhance safe driving among young drivers in Israel

Young drivers in Israel, as in other parts of the world, are at an elevated risk of being involved in car crashes more than any other age group. A Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDL) has been introduced in Israel, requiring new drivers to be accompanied by an experienced driver during the first 3 months after obtaining a driving license. In an effort to ensure the effectiveness of the accompanied driving phase, a novel program which targets both young drivers and their parents, called green light for life (GLL), was initiated. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of GLL by comparing between young drivers who participated in the program and those who did not. Additionally, this study examined a structural equation model to predict young drivers’ involvement in car crashes and additional risk measures. The study utilized quantitative measures through a questionnaire completed by 738 young drivers (437 men, 301 women; 362 of whom participated in the program, 376 who did not). The results obtained indicate that GLL participants showed more positive views regarding the accompanied driving phase and were less involved in car crashes. They draw a comprehensive model of associations between various aspects of accompanied driving and risky driving measures.     

The contribution of perceived parental and familial characteristics to attitudes toward accompanied driving among young drivers

One of the main requirements of the graduated driving licensing system in Israel is that new drivers be accompanied by an experienced driver (usually one of their parents) for the first three months after receipt of their license. The current series of studies examined the associations between young drivers’ attitudes toward accompanied driving (ATAD) and their perception of their parents’ driving styles and parenting modes, as well as dynamic of their family. Young drivers completed questionnaires assessing their ATAD, and either perceived parental driving style (Study 1, n = 100), perceived parenting style (Study 2, n = 120), or perceived family dynamic (Study 3, n = 254). The results indicated significant associations between the young drivers’ ATAD of tension, relatedness, avoidance, disapproval, and anxiety, and their own perceptions of the characteristic driving styles of their parents (risky, anxious, angry, and careful). They also indicated significant relationship between youngsters’ ATAD and their perceptions of their parents’ parenting modes (responsive, demanding, and autonomy-granting). Finally, the results indicated significant negative associations between ATAD of tension, avoidance, disapproval, and anxiety, and family cohesion and adaptability, and a positive association between these two and relatedness. The results are discussed in respect to the relationship between the parental model and the young drivers’ ATAD in particular, and risk management in general, and practical implications of these results are offered.     

Prevalence of texting while driving and other risky driving behaviors among young people in Ontario,Canada: Evidence from 2012 and 2014

This paper reports on the prevalence of texting while driving and other risky driving behaviors by age and gender in two large samples of youth aged 16–19 years in Ontario, Canada. In Study 1 (N = 6133), we found that males reported more frequent texting while driving and speeding than females and, in terms of age, sixteen year olds reported frequent texting while driving than older participants. In Study 2 (N = 4450), which was conducted two years later, males again reported more frequent texting while driving, however there was no difference in the rate of talking on the phone while driving among males and females. Participants also reported on experiences that led to a significant reduction in their texting while driving. The most common reasons were the perceived danger of texting while driving, laws and fines against texting while driving, and observing close-calls and accidents experienced by other people. The results of both studies suggest that driving-related risk-taking behaviors co-occur and that young passengers in vehicles, including 14 and 15 year olds, are bystanders to texting while driving. Finally, there was a substantial decline in the prevalence of texting while driving across the studies. In Study 1, 27% of participants reported “sometimes” to “almost always” texting while driving compared to 6% of participants in Study 2. Limitations and implications for public campaigns targeted youth distracted driving are discussed.     

The contribution of family climate for road safety and social environment to the reported driving behavior of young drivers

Two studies examined the contribution of the new concept of “family climate for road safety” and several aspects of the social environment to the driving behavior of young drivers. Study 1 (n = 120) investigated the effect of the seven dimensions of the family climate for road safety – Modeling, Feedback, Communication, Monitoring, Noncommitment, Messages, and Limits – as well as a general tendency to conform to authority, and peer pressure. Study 2 (n = 154) examined the dimensions of family climate for road safety and perceived popularity of reckless driving among peers. The findings indicate associations both between the familial and the social aspects, and between these variables and driving styles, willingness to take risks while driving, reckless driving habits, and personal commitment to safe driving. Positive aspects of the parent–child relationship and high levels of conformity to authority were related to greater endorsement of the careful driving style, whereas family's noncommitment to safety, higher peer pressure, and lower conformity to authority were associated with greater endorsement of the reckless driving style. In addition, positive aspects of the family climate for road safety and lower perceived popularity of reckless driving among friends were associated with more personal commitment to safe driving and a lower tendency for risky driving. The discussion stresses the need to look at the complex set of antecedents of reckless driving among young drivers and addresses the practical implications of the findings for road safety.     

The effect of the new traffic law on drinking and driving in São Paulo,Brazil

Objective

To present data on drinking and driving in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, and the effects of the new traffic law (Law 11,705) introduced in 2008.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed using a questionnaire and passive breath test data to study the prevalence of drinking and driving and the association of drinking and driving with background characteristics and drinking patterns on two separate occasions. The data were gathered from 2007 to 2009 through roadside surveys conducted on busy public roads. Four thousand two-hundred thirty-four (4234) drivers were approached, before and after prohibition, from the south, north, east, and west regions of the city of São Paulo, located in southeastern Brazil, including cars, motorcycles, and utility vehicles. A total of 3854 (91%) consented to participate in the survey and answered the questionnaire. Out of this group, 3229 (84%) agreed to take the passive breathalyzer test.

Results

Logistic regression analyses controlling for gender and age was used to predict a positive breath test (above 0.2 g/l) and the impact of the new law. These analyses indicated that, after the passage of the new traffic law, there was a 45% decrease in driver behavior with positive breathalyzer results. Having a pattern of alcohol consumption of at least once a week and the habit of drinking and driving are risks for a positive breathalyzer.

Conclusions

Despite the decline in the frequency of motorists driving under the influence of alcohol, traffic-related injuries and deaths, after the new law, other measures for a public policy related to alcohol should be considered based on scientific evidence, consistency of action, clear goals, community support, and greater reliability in the laws.     

Continuing to drive while sleepy: The influence of sleepiness countermeasures,motivation for driving sleepy,and risk perception

Driver sleepiness is a major contributor to road crashes. The current study sought to examine the association between perceptions of effectiveness of six sleepiness countermeasures and their relationship with self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy among 309 drivers after controlling for the influence of age, sex, motivation for driving sleepy, and risk perception of sleepy driving. The results demonstrate that the variables of age, sex, motivation, and risk perception were significantly associated with self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy and only one countermeasure was associated with self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy. Further, it was found that age differences in self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy was mediated by participants’ motivation and risk perception. These findings highlight modifiable factors that could be focused on with interventions that seek to modify drivers’ attitudes and behaviours of driving while sleepy.     

Crash avoidance in response to challenging driving events: The roles of age,serialization, and driving simulator platform

We examined the crash avoidance behaviors of older and middle-aged drivers in reaction to six simulated challenging road events using two different driving simulator platforms. Thirty-five healthy adults aged 21–36 years old (M = 28.9 ± 3.96) and 35 healthy adults aged 65–83 years old (M = 72.1 ± 4.34) were tested using a mid-level simulator, and 27 adults aged 21–38 years old (M = 28.6 ± 6.63) and 27 healthy adults aged 65–83 years old (M = 72.7 ± 5.39) were tested on a low-cost desktop simulator. Participants completed a set of six challenging events varying in terms of the maneuvers required, avoiding space given, directional avoidance cues, and time pressure. Results indicated that older drivers showed higher crash risk when events required multiple synchronized reactions. In situations that required simultaneous use of steering and braking, older adults tended to crash significantly more frequently. As for middle-aged drivers, their crashes were attributable to faster driving speed. The same age-related driving patterns were observed across simulator platforms. Our findings support the hypothesis that older adults tend to react serially while engaging in cognitively challenging road maneuvers.     

The development of a naturalistic data collection system to perform critical incident analysis: an investigation of safety and fatigue issues in long-haul trucking

Traditionally, both epidemiological and empirical methods have been used to assess driving safety. This paper describes an alternative, hybrid, naturalistic approach to data collection that shares advantages with each traditional approach. Though this naturalistic approach draws on elements of several safety techniques that have been developed in the past, including the Hazard Analysis Technique, instrumented vehicle studies, and fleet studies of driving safety interventions, it has a number of unique elements. Sophisticated instrumented vehicles collected over 400,000 km of commercial vehicle data to address the long-haul trucking application described in this paper. The development of this data collection and analysis method and data collection instrumentation has resulted in a set of valuable tools to advance the current state-of-the-practice in driving safety assessment. An application of this unique approach to a study of long-haul truck driver performance, behavior, and fatigue is described herein.