The disproportionately high crash rates among new, especially young, drivers have prompted several jurisdictions in North America and elsewhere to introduce a system of licensing called "graduated licensing". It targets both the experience- and age-related factors that render young drivers at high risk of collision by imposing a set of driving restrictions such as a night driving curfew, a zero blood alcohol concentration, and a limit on the number of passengers. A graduated licensing program was implemented in Nova Scotia, Canada in October 1994. The fact that this program has been in operation for several years provided an opportunity to assess how teenagers as well as their parents have reacted to it. The study involved telephone interviews with 450 teenagers ages 16-18 and 500 parents with teenagers ages 16-18 to obtain information on their knowledge about the graduated licensing system, their attitudes toward it, and the level of support for and compliance with its restrictions. The results show that parents and many teenagers endorse the graduated licensing program. In addition, the level of knowledge about the system is relatively high, attitudes toward it are favourable, and reported compliance with it is reasonably widespread. These results have relevance for policy makers and licensing authorities who are considering graduated licensing programs as well as those who already have such programs and are considering improvements. (Author/publisher)
Abstract