The study describes the driving record of 13,915 teenagers during their first 4 years of driving and correlates this record with biographical data.data were collected from department of motor vehicle accident and conviction records, accident reports,school records, mail questionnaires, and personal interviews. The average number of accidents showed little change in the first four years of driving. This result does not provide support for increasing the licensing age from 16 to 18. Responsibility for accidents decreased with increasing experience.suspension and revocation of licenses was not very effective in keeping drivers off the road. More socially desirable personal characteristics were associated with better driving record. Citizenship grade in high school was the best predictor of accidents and convictions.the relation between accident frequency and biographical data was too low to permit accurate identification of"accident prone" drivers prior to licensing. For those with fatal and injury accidents, the characteristics of the first such accident were not predictive of the number of other accidents.an optimal point system for types of violations was better than the number of convictions for predicting future accidents. Those taking driver training and classroom driver education each had better driving records and more socially desirable personal characteristics than those not taking the courses, indicating volunteer bias. Taking these personal differences into account, both courses appeared to reduce fatal and injury accidents for females, but had little if any effect for males.interviews indicated that high accident subjects were characterised by greater social deviancy greater involvement with cars, and more reckless, more emotionally motivated driving when teenagers. (Author/publisher)
Abstract