New to the road : young drivers and novice drivers : similar problems and solutions ?

This report is presented in five parts. Part One, "Young Driver Accidents: Changes in the Magnitude of the Problem," reviews past literature on young driver accident risk, summarizes several of the key findings from a 1981 study on the young driver problem, and examines changes in the magnitude of the problem in Canada over the past decade. Part Two, "Why Are Young Drivers Overrepresented in Collisions?," reviews the explanations that have been offered for the overrepresentation of young people in road crashes and the perspectives taken in studying the possible causes of the higher accident risk experienced by young drivers. Part Three, "The Relationship of Age and Experience to Collision Involvement," begins where the preceding section left off with a review of the published literature that has examined the relative contribution of age-related factors and experiential ones to collisions. The contemporary significance of this issue is underscored by an examination of trends in licensing and crash involvement among newly licensed drivers. Also examined are shifts in demographics resulting in a greater proportion of newly licensed drivers that are older and female. Contemporary data are then analyzed in an attempt to disentangle the effects of age- and driving-related factors in collisions. Part Four, "Countermeasures For New and Young Drivers and Their Effectiveness," catalogues on an international scale the wide range of new and young driver loss reduction countermeasures. The primary emphasis is on pre- and at-licensing programs. Programs currently in place in Canada and other countries are briefly described, and the available scientific evidence on their effectiveness in reducing crashes involving their intended target audience are reviewed. Part Five, "Summary and Implications," reviews the key findings in terms of the central issue - the extent to which the higher crash risk experienced by young drivers reflects factors unique to youthful individuals or results from factors common to all newly licensed operators. (Author/publisher)