This study investigated the involvement of New South Wales drivers in accidents and traffic offences as a function of age, driving experience and sex. It was designed to test the hypothesis that, among drivers of the same age, risky driving behaviours become more frequent with increasing driving experience. The results of both the accident analysis and the offence analysis provided support for the study hypothesis. Among drivers of the same age, higher levels of experience are associated with a greater tendency to offend and engage in risky driving behaviour. It appears either that novice drivers learn through experience that potential hazards rarely eventuate or that they become more confident of their ability to negotiate the hazards successfully if they do eventuate. There is evidence that an increasing tendency to speed leads to increasing involvement in certain types of accidents during the first few years of driving. The findings suggest the widespread use of combined speed and red light enforcement cameras at signalised intersections should lead to a reduction in collisions in which a vehicle turns right across the path of a vehicle proceeding straight ahead. (Author/publisher)
Abstract