Driver training in Denmark was changes radically in 1986. An evaluation study was undertaken in RfT (Danish Council for Road Safety Research) to see, whether the new training concept had had any effect on the development in accidents. In an earlier part of the study (RfT Rapport 2/1996, see ST 961390) it was found that the accidents of the 18-19-years-olds had decreased more than those of mature drivers, a fact that could not solely be attributed to changes in population size, changes in exposure, mild winters in the before period etc. It therefore seemed reasonable to attribute the change in driver training an effect. The present report describes the results of another part of the study, where two groups of new car drivers - trained according to old and new rules, respectively - have been followed with 4 questionnaires through their first 5,5 years as drivers. The decrease in accidents found in the official statistics was also found in the questionnaire study. It is mainly concentrated in the first year of driving, and is found in multiple-vehicle-accidents and manoeuvring accidents. The number of single accidents did not change. Those who received a training, which satisfied a number of the basic requirements of the changed rules, had a lower accident risk than those, whose training did not meet these requirements. This can be seen as an indication that the decrease in accidents is at least in part connected with the change in training. (A)
Abstract