The Graduated Licensing System (GLS) was introduced to help reduce the risk of collision for new drivers by requiring them to progress through a two step licensing system before full licensure. Novice drivers must obey a comprehensive set of driving restrictions designed to reduce their exposure to high risk driving situations. A preliminary study of collision rates for novice drivers before (1993) and after implementation of GLS (1995) indicates the program is working very well. The overall collision rate per 10,000 licensed drivers for 1995 novice drivers is 31 per cent lower than the rate observed for 1993 novice drivers. By contrast, only a 4 per cent drop was observed for the general driving population over the same time period. This indicates that the drop in novice driver collision rates is largely due to GLS. When analysing fatal and injury collisions (i.e. excluding property damage only collisions) there was also a dramatic improvement in the collision rate per 10,000 licensed novice drivers. The size of the improvement however, varied by gender. The female novice driver fatal and injury collision rate improved 34 per cent compared to a 19 per cent improvement for novice male drivers. Under GLS, advancement to the second level (G2) means that novice drivers for the first time do not require an accompanying driver and many of the restrictions imposed in the first level are removed. When a separate collision analysis was done on just G2 drivers, significant reductions in collision rates were still observed. The 1995 G2 novice drivers had an overall collision rate that was 16 per cent lower than the rate for 1993 novice drivers. This indicates that the substantial improvements due to GLS are not solely due to the restrictiveness of Level One. In other words, Level One is not merely postponing the problem, but appears to be instilling safer habits among novice drivers. The effect of the alcohol, night-time and freeway driving restrictions were also evaluated and found to be very effective. The alcohol restriction has reduced the incidence of novice drivers involved in alcohol-related collisions by 27 per cent. The night-time restriction reduced the incidence of novice drivers involved in collisions between midnight and 5 a.m. by 62 per cent. The freeway restriction reduced the incidence of novice drivers involved in collisions on those highways by 61 per cent. Under GLS, novice drivers can reduce the time spent in Level One (G1) by four months by successfully completing an approved driver education course. The evaluation shows that 16 to 19 year-old G2 novices with driver education have a collision rate that is 45 per cent higher than G2 novices without driver education. These results are preliminary and run counter to established research findings which suggest driver education has little or no effect on subsequent collision rates. This finding will be the subject of further, more detailed study. Overall, this preliminary evaluation of the Ontario graduated licensing system is very encouraging. Not only has GLS saved lives and considerably reduced injuries, the reduction in collisions has produced social cost savings of $59 million. This can be broken down into an indirect cost reduction of $25 million (lost future earnings and the costs associated with pain and suffering) and a direct cost reduction of $34 million (insurance, property damage costs, emergency response and medical costs). (A)
Abstract