Analyses of car drivers' accidents show that young drivers clearly are a high-risk group. At local level, in a city of about 600,000 inhabitants, a project is ready to start aimed at improving and/or maintaining normative driving behaviour of young drivers. This will be done by approaching the target group regularly with a combination of direct mailings, enforcement actions with both punishments and rewards, feedback of behavioural indicators, violations and accident reports. Driving-related aspects such as speed choice, alcohol use, red light discipline and seat belt use are strongly subjected to processes of habit formation. These habits are formed quickly after the licence to drive has been obtained, and once formed, are very difficult to change. Therefore, the project will take care to "be with" a new driver from the very first day of his of her driving career in order to prevent the formation of bad habits. (A)
Abstract