On the international level, drivers between 18 and 24 years of age are accident-prone above the average. Their risk is double to treble that of other drivers. The danger for motor-cyclists is up to 2 times higher than for other traffic participants. The risk is highest at weekends, at night. The accident level only drops after a driving experience of approximately 100,000 kilometers, i.e. after 6 to 7 years. In a series of studies, different factors were determined to explain this phenomenon. The report, which covers especially the situation in the German-speaking parts of Europe, deals with the psychological, sociological, physiological, and financial factors as well as educational; the last-mentioned with special attention to the different models of basic, continued and follow-up education, which were mainly devised to correct inadequate education and to deactivate the psychological problems connected to the risk acceptance of young drivers in road traffic. (A) See also IRRD 845811. For the covering abstract of the Second International Conference on New Ways for Improved Road Safety and Quality of Life, Tel-Aviv, Israel, October 7-10, 1991 see IRRD 845792.
Abstract