Novice drivers' accidents and violations--a failure on higher or lower hierarchical levels of driving behaviour

The study compared accident and offence rates of 28 500 novice drivers in Finland. The purpose was to study differences in accident and offence rates between male and female novice drivers of different age. The drivers reported in a mailed questionnaire, how many accidents they had been involved in and how much they had driven during their whole driving career. All the drivers had a driving experience of 6–18 months. Information about offences for a 2-year period was obtained from an official register of drivers' licences. The drivers were classified into three age brackets: 18–20, 21–30 and 31–50 years. The effect of driving experience was controlled by dividing the drivers into different mileage brackets. The data was analysed and the results were discussed in the framework of the hierarchical model of driving behaviour. Young novice drivers and especially young male drivers showed more problems connected to the higher hierarchical levels of driving behaviour than middle-aged novice drivers. The number of accidents and offences was highest among the young males and their accidents took place more often at night than female or older drivers' accidents. Female drivers showed more problems connected to the lower hierarchical levels of driving behaviour, e.g. problems in vehicle handling skills. Ways of measuring accident risk of different driver groups were also discussed, as well as the usefulness and reliability of self-reports in accident studies.     

Previous convictions or accidents and the risk of subsequent accidents of older drivers

The over-involvement of elderly drivers in collisions has a potentially adverse effect on highway safety. The question for most experts in traffic research is whether we can predict the individual risk of accidents and which variables are the best predictors, especially for this population. For a better understanding of the elderly drivers' problems, this study aimed to describe the most common types of accidents in the elderly population of drivers living in Quebec (> or = 65 years of age). The second objective of the study was to analyse the relationship between previous accidents or convictions and the risk of subsequent accidents. The results show that: (1) elderly drivers are characterised by error accidents involving more than one car, especially at intersections, (2) prior accidents are a better predictor for accident risk than prior convictions and (3) these trends steadily increase with each age group (drivers 65 years old to 80 years or more). The results are discussed in relation to the literature on risk behaviour of the elderly drivers.     

Time and distance to first accident and driving patterns of young drivers with pay-as-you-drive insurance

We conducted a study of approximately 16,000 drivers under the age of 30 that had purchased a pay-as-you-drive insurance policy, where their risk of being involved in a crash was analyzed from vehicle tracking data using a global positioning system. The comparison of novice vs. experienced young drivers shows that vehicle usage differs significantly between these groups and that the time to the first crash is shorter for those drivers with less experience. Driving at night and a higher proportion of speed limit violations reduces the time to the first crash for both novice and experienced young drivers, while urban driving reduces the distance traveled to the first crash for both groups. Gender differences are also observed in relation to the influence of driving patterns on the risk of accident. Nighttime driving reduces the time to the first accident in the case of women, but not for men. The risk of an accident increases with excessive speed, but the effect of speed is significantly higher for men than it is for women among the more experienced drivers.     

Rearward-facing child seats--the safest car restraint for children?

During recent years the use of child restraints in cars in Sweden has rapidly increased. The fact that the different restraint systems prevent injuries has been substantiated, as is shown in this paper. The major emphasis is put on the benefits of using rearward-facing child seats for children 0 to 4 years of age. Attitudes concerning child safety in cars and the misuse problem are also discussed. Based on Volvo's accident material it is shown that the injury-reducing effect of the rearward-facing child seat is superior to all present types of child restraints in cars. This paper is mainly based upon Volvo's own traffic accident material. This paper is based upon accidents that occurred between the years 1976 and 1988 and comprises some 13,000 accidents involving approximately 22,000 people. In 1,500 of these accidents at least one child (0 to 14 years) was present in the vehicle. In addition to the collection of accident data, separate attitude studies have been carried out, concerning child safety in cars.     

Women drivers' behaviour, socio-demographic characteristics and accidents.

The purpose of this study was to examine factors which affect driving behaviour and accident rates in women in Australia. Two groups of women (aged 18-23 and 45-50 years) participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, completed a mailed questionnaire on driver behaviour and road accidents. Self reported accident rates in the last 3 years were 1.87 per 100,000 km for the young drivers (n = 1199) and 0.59 per 100,000 km for the mid-age drivers (n = 1564); most accidents involved damage only, not injury. Mean scores for lapses obtained using the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, were similar in the two age groups and similar to those found in other studies. In contrast, scores for errors and violations for the young women were higher than for the mid-age group and previous reports using the same instruments. Riskier driving behaviour among young women was associated with stress and habitual alcohol consumption. In the mid-age group, poorer driver behaviour scores were related to higher levels of education, feeling rushed, higher habitual alcohol consumption and lower life satisfaction scores. Accident rates in both groups were significantly related to lapses. Women born in non-English speaking countries had significantly higher risk of accidents compared to Australian-born women: relative risk = 3.40, 95% confidence interval (1.93, 5.98) for the young drivers; relative risk = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (1.11, 2.83) for mid-age drivers. These findings support the need for road safety campaigns targeted at young women to reduce dangerous driving practices, such as speeding, 'tail gating' and overtaking on the inside. There is also a need for further research to understand how lifestyle characteristics are associated with higher risk of accidents and to explore factors which might account for the higher risk for women drivers who were born overseas.     

Driver licenses as a measure of older drivers' exposure: a methodological note

The limitations of the number of driver licenses as an estimate of driving exposure were demonstrated by comparing Finnish and Swedish driver licensing practices, licensing rates and accident rates of older drivers. In Sweden, there is no screening for older license holders, and most of them keep their licenses for life. In Finland, there is a heavy and costly medico-legal control system for older license holders, leading to both screening and self-screening. Consequently, in the two countries, the numbers of driver licenses do not reflect the numbers of active older drivers in the same manner. This difference affects the comparative accident statistics: with respect to population, Finland and Sweden have similar age trends in accidents risk, but with respect to the number of driver licenses, the Finnish older drivers seem to have a higher risk of accident than the Swedish ones. It is concluded that if group comparisons of accident risk are presented using the number of driver licenses as an estimate of exposure, the licensing legislation and practice should affect all the groups in an identical manner for the comparison to be valid.     

Age-related safety in professional heavy vehicle drivers: A literature review

With Australia facing a looming shortage of heavy vehicle drivers the question is raised as to whether it is desirable or prudent to encourage older professional heavy vehicle drivers to remain in the transport sector for longer, particularly those of heavy vehicles or recruit drivers of a younger age.

Aim

To review age-related safety and identify other factors that contribute to accidents experienced by heavy vehicle drivers.

Methods

A search was conducted of national and international peer-reviewed literature in the following databases: MedLine, Embase, Cinahl, PsychInfo and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety. A manual search was performed to obtain relevant articles within selected journals.

Results

A limited number of studies reported age-specific accident rates for heavy vehicles for the spectrum of driver age that included drivers younger than 27 years and those over 60 years of age. Heavy vehicle drivers younger than 27 years of age demonstrated higher rates of accident/fatality involvement which decline and plateau until the age of 63 years where increased rates were again observed. Other contributing factors to heavy vehicle accidents include: long hours and subsequent sleepiness and fatigue, employer safety culture, vehicle configuration particularly multiple trailers, urbanisation and road classification.

Conclusions

Drivers of heavy vehicles are over-involved until age 27 years however a characteristic ‘U’ shaped curve indicates a higher risk of accident involvement for both younger and older drivers. More detailed analyses of “at-fault” involvement and inability to avert an accident and other factors that contribute to accidents across the ages of heavy vehicle drivers may give further clarification to the degree of safety of both younger and older commercial heavy vehicle drivers.     

The traffic behaviour of elderly male automobile drivers in Gothenburg,Sweden

406 drivers over 60 years of age with automobile licences issued in Gothenburg, Sweden, were asked by a questionnaire about their driving habits in 1971. 126 drivers around 40 years of age have constituted a comparison group. A large proportion of the older drivers declared that they no longer drove their cars. More than half the number of drivers over 75 years of age and a quarter of the drivers between 65 and 69 years of age had given up driving voluntarily because of age and illness. Self-selection thus seems to be one of several factors of great importance when judging the traffic safety risks of elderly drivers. The annual distance driven by the older driver groups was shorter than in the younger age-group. The older drivers used their cars for other purposes than younger drivers and they also avoided driving in darkness, on icy roads, and in unknown cities to a far greater extent than younger drivers. The total number of accidents and offences during the older drivers' whole life-span as drivers was lower than the corresponding figures in the younger age-group. In our opinion this may depend on the shorter annual distance driven by the older drivers, the change in traffic density in the investigation area, but also to a great extent on the older drivers awareness of their reduced capacity. Their accident and offence rate during a three-year-period is quite similar to the rate in the comparison group.     

Differences in accident characteristics among elderly drivers and between elderly and middle-aged drivers

A total of 5,853 elderly drivers, aged 55 and over, and 8,210 middle-aged drivers 36-50 years old, all of whom were involved in accidents during 1986, were compared using discriminant function and univariate techniques. Substantial differences were found in accident characteristics not only between middle-aged and elderly drivers but also between three different age groups of the elderly. Support was found for the suspicion that, while the elderly have fewer accidents than younger drivers, their safety record, based on driving exposure with noncrash convictions as a surrogate measure of kilometres driven, is worse, and, in addition, they are more often at fault in accident involvements.     

Fatal accident involvement rates by driver age for large trucks

Survey data on large trucks involved in fatal accidents and on the travel of large trucks provide estimates of fatal accident involvement rates by driver age. The analysis is focused on the implications of lowering the minimum age for drivers of commercial trucks operating interstate from 21 to 19 years. Fatal accident involvement rates for drivers of large trucks are found to increase with decreasing driver age. The younger drivers are over-involved until about age 27. Drivers under the age of 21 are over-involved by a factor of 6 in comparison to the overall rate for all drivers. Other factors known to have significant influences on the probability of involvement in a fatal accident were examined to determine their association with the over-involvement of younger drivers. The general pattern of over-involvement for younger drivers pervades virtually every combination of factors examined. Thus, it is concluded that the basic trend with driver age shown in the aggregate data is primarily associated with age and is not associated with the other factors examined. The results of this analysis substantiate an elevated risk of fatal accident involvement for younger drivers of large trucks.     

Characterological, situational, and behavioral risk factors for motor vehicle accidents: a prospective examination

The occurrence of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) was studied prospectively in a sample of 500 drivers aged 19-88. Over a 4-year interval from 1991 to 1995, 36% of these drivers had a minor accident and 9% had a serious (injury-producing) accident. Data collected in 1991 demonstrated that crashes could be predicted from a combination of pre-existing characterological, situational, and behavioral risk factors, and that these risk factors largely explained sex and age differences in accident rates. The best predictors of future MVAs were younger age, high hostility in combination with poor self-esteem, residence in a larger city, recent relocation, high job stress, prior MVAs, and self-reported tendencies to speed and disregard traffic rules. Failure to wear seat belts did not predict accidents but did significantly influence the severity of accidents that did occur; that is, those who had earlier reported using seat belts 'always' were less likely than others to be injured when accidents did occur. Financial stress increased the likelihood of involvement in more serious accidents.     

Work-related versus non-work-related road accidents, developments in the last decade in France

The aim of this research was to analyze the changes that have affected work-related road accidents between 1997 and 2006, using police data. The study focused on drivers aged between 14 and 64 years. The characteristics considered were the age, gender, type of vehicle and occupation of the individuals involved and the location, time and severity of the accident. Two periods were compared, 1997-2000 and 2003-2006. Three types of journey were considered: while at work, commuting (going to and from work), and non-work-related.The percentage of all accidents which were work-related varied little over the decade (10% while at work and 18% while commuting). The accidents that occurred while at work still had the lowest fatality rates (1.4% among women and 3.4% among men in 2003-2006). Men accounted for the majority of the casualties: 90% of fatalities while at work and approximately 80% for the other types of journey. The greatest reduction took place in the number of motorists, and this has led to an increase in the proportion of motorized two-wheelers both while at work and while commuting. In the case of accidents while at work, the professional drivers still had the highest risk, craftsmen and shopkeepers were also at higher risk than manual workers of both genders and male employees. Extending analysis of this type to other European countries would be of major interest both for epidemiological monitoring and the prevention of occupational road accidents.     

Psychosocial correlates of the impact of road traffic accidents among South African drivers and passengers

The aim of the study was to investigate the psychosocial consequences and coping strategies among accident victims in South Africa. Participants (138 drivers and 141 passengers) who had been involved in a road traffic accident were approached and interviewed in public places. In both groups the median age group was between 25 years and 34 years. In 34 accidents (12.2%) a family member was killed, in 68 accidents (24.4%) a non-family member was killed in the accident. In 272 accidents 197 (72.4%) persons (both drivers and passengers) were injured and 168 (61.7%) were hospitalized. Eighty-seven drivers (63%) did not perceive themselves at fault and 51 (37%) did. Following the road traffic accident both drivers and passengers showed a significant decline of their well-being. Drivers who perceived themselves to be at fault did not cope better than those not perceiving themselves at fault. Passengers related to the drivers showed more decline in their well-being than those not related. Path analysis for drivers found that holding oneself responsible had a direct, and mediated by self-blame, guilt and family distress, negative effect on personal well-being. In the passengers group, holding the driver or others responsible led, mediated by increased self-blame, feelings of guilt, and family distress, to lower psychological well-being (PWB). Findings have relevant implications for the development of coping strategies to aid victims of road traffic accidents in dealing with their trauma in this African context, which may differ to those in Western societies.     

Factors associated with fatal and injurious car crash among learner drivers in New South Wales,Australia

This exploratory study investigated factors associated with car crash injury among learner drivers across difference ages by using data routinely collected by the NSW police. The results obtained indicated that some factors are commonly associated with car crash injury across nearly all ages. On the other hand, some others are more age specific. On the whole, female learner drivers were more at risk of being killed or injured as compared to males. The drivers of 16 years old had an increased risk of crash injury due to environmental factors, such as special road feature, and distraction outside the vehicle. The increased risk of crash injury for older drivers (> or =25 years) was associated with distractions from both inside and outside vehicle. Night time driving posed a special risk to learner drivers aged 20-24 years old, but not other age groups. Speeding was a common factor for the increased risk of crash injury across all age groups. The implication of the results and limitations of the study were discussed.     

Characteristics of low speed accidents with buses in public transport: part II

A number of accident characteristics of bus crashes are analyzed in relation to each other using data from 2237 accident involvements in the city of Uppsala (Sweden) during the years 1986-2000. The breakdown of accidents into sub-categories show, for example, that injury was common in intersection accidents, that bus stops present large risk for shunts and side contacts, while single vehicle accidents were seldom preceded by the loss of control or a skid. The treatment of accident data is discussed in terms of methodology, statistics and data reduction strategies.     

Multiple-vehicle traffic accidents in Hong Kong

‘Multiple-vehicle traffic accident’ refers to a crash between two or more moving objects. Unlike single-vehicle accidents, not all drivers involving in a multiple-vehicle accident are responsible for the occurrence of the event. Accordingly, variables such as road type, speed limit and number of vehicles involved in the accident are expected to play a much more important role in association with injury severity in multiple-vehicle accidents. To study the factors influencing injury severity of multiple-vehicle traffic accidents, a population-based study was conducted. The traffic accident data was obtained from the Traffic Accident Data System (TRADS), which was developed by the Transport Department, Police Force and Information Technology Services Department, Hong Kong. Multiple-vehicle traffic accidents (N = 10,630) occurring during the 2-year period 1999/2000 were considered. Potential risk factors such as district, human, vehicle, safety, environmental and site factors were examined. Categorizing injury severity into “fatal/serious” and “slight”, a stepwise logistic regression model was applied to the population data set. The district board, time of the accident, driver's gender, vehicle type, road type, speed limit and the number of vehicles involved are significant factors influencing the injury severity. Identification of risk factors for severe traffic accidents provides valuable information to help with new and improved road safety control measures.     

Road accidents caused by drivers falling asleep

About 29600 Norwegian accident-involved drivers received a questionnaire about the last accident reported to their insurance company. About 9200 drivers (31%) returned the questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions about sleep or fatigue as contributing factors to the accident. In addition, the drivers reported whether or not they had fallen asleep some time whilst driving. and what the consequences had been. Sleep or drowsiness was a contributing factor in 3.9% of all accidents, as reported by drivers who were at fault for the accident. This factor was strongly over-represented in night-time accidents (18.6%), in running-off-the-road accidents (8.3%), accidents after driving more than 150 km on one trip (8.1%), and personal injury accidents (7.3%). A logistic regression analysis showed that the following additional factors made significant and independent contributions to increasing the odds of sleep involvement in an accident: dry road, high speed limit, driving one's own car, not driving the car daily, high education, and few years of driving experience. More male than female drivers were involved in sleep-related accidents, but this seems largely to be explained by males driving relatively more than females on roads with high speed limits. A total of 10% of male drivers and 4% of females reported to have fallen asleep while driving during the last 12 months. A total of 4% of these events resulted in an accident. The most frequent consequence of falling asleep--amounting to more than 40% of the reported incidents--was crossing of the right edge-line before awaking, whereas crossing of the centreline was reported by 16%. Drivers' lack of awareness of important precursors of falling asleep--like highway hypnosis, driving without awareness, and similar phenomena--as well as a reluctance to discontinue driving despite feeling tired are pointed out as likely contributors to sleep-related accidents. More knowledge about the drivers' experiences immediately preceding such accidents may give a better background for implementing effective driver warning systems and other countermeasures.     

Effect of lowering the alcohol limit in Denmark

On 1 March 1998, the Danish per se limit was lowered from 0.08 to 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for motor vehicle drivers. Based on accident data and drivers' drinking habits before and after the amendment, the effect of the new limit has been evaluated. Interviews revealed a significant decrease in the number of drinks that drivers allow themselves to drink within a 2-h period before driving. The proportion of drivers, who would not drink at all or only have one drink, increased from 71% before the amendment to 80% after the amendment. Drivers with changed drinking habits most often stated the lower limit as the main reason for having less alcohol. However, based on accident data from the first year after the amendment, this has not resulted in a marked decrease in the proportion of injury accidents with impaired motor vehicle drivers (BAC>/=0.05%) compared to all injury accidents. On the contrary, the proportion of fatal accidents with drink-drivers compared to all fatal accidents has increased in the after-period. The total number of drink-driving sentences were a little larger in 1999 than in 1997 because of the lower limit, but a significant change from higher towards lower alcohol levels can be seen.     

The optimism bias and traffic accident risk perception

Research suggests that people are excessively and unrealistically optimistic when judging their driving competency and accident risk. In this study, college-age drivers compared their risk of being involved in a variety of described traffic accidents relative to their peers. They also rated each of the accidents along a number of dimensions hypothesized as being related to optimism. In addition, subjects provided global estimates of their driving safety, skill, and accident likelihood. Significant optimism was evident for both the accidents and the global ratings. Optimism increased with driving experience and marginally with age. Those with more driving experience considered human factors to be more important in accident causation; those assigning more importance to human factors also rated themselves as more skillful drivers. For the specific accidents, perceived controllability was a strong predictor of optimism. The findings for controllability are interpreted in terms of other recent data and hypothesized explanations of the optimism bias. In general, it appears that optimism arises because people persistently overestimate the degree of control that they have over events.