This report follows on from a previous report entitled Young Drivers Accidents 1997. The information in this report is based on road accident information collated by An Garda Síochána and processed by the Road Accident Bureau of The National Roads Authority. The Young Driver Accidents 1997 report identified young (17-24) drivers - especially male drivers - as being at particular risk of being involved in accidents. In 1997, 89% of all young car drivers killed were male compared with 11% female. The report noted, amongst other things, that: • Young Driver Accidents (YDAs) tend to be more severe than accidents not involving young drivers. • compared to older drivers, young drivers were deemed to be to a large extent responsible for a higher proportion of the fatal / injury accidents in which they were involved. • compared to young female drivers, young male drivers were deemed to be to a large extent responsible for a higher proportion of accidents in which they were involved. • The responsibility rate was higher for young drivers with provisional licenses than for young drivers with full licenses. The current report updates the 1997 report and seeks to examine whether the findings above are still valid. Summary of Findings: • In the year 2000 there were a total of 7,757 injury accidents reported to the Gardai, of which 1,945 involved at least one young driver (aged between 17 and 24). • A higher proportion of Young Driver Accidents (YDAs), as compared to accidents not involving younger drivers, were classified as being fatal or serious. • In 2000 the fatality rate – the number killed per 100,000 population - was much higher for those aged 18-24 than for any other age cohort. • In the same year, the driver fatality rate – the number of drivers killed per 100,000 population - for 18-24 year olds was more than ten times higher for males than it was for females. • The car driver fatality rate was also approximately ten times higher for young males than it was for young females. • Young motorcycle drivers (18-24) accounted for 51% of all motorcycle drivers killed and 41% of all injured in 2000. • In 2000, young car drivers accounted for 37% of all car drivers killed and 18% of all car drivers injured. • In the year 2000, young male drivers were deemed to be to a “large extent responsible” in 60% of the injury accidents that they were involved in (accident omitted from analysis if field not filled in). • In 2000 the young male driver responsibility rate – the proportion of accidents in which they were involved and deemed to be “to a large extent responsible” – was higher for fatal (83%) than for serious (70%) or minor (55%) accidents. That is, the greater the injury severity of accidents involving young male drivers the greater the likelihood that they would be deemed to be responsible to a large degree for the accident. • The responsibility rate was higher for drivers with a provisional licence than for those with a full drivers licence. • The most frequently occurring error for young drivers involved in fatal two vehicle collisions is “exceeded safe speed”. Young drivers were more likely than older drivers to have improper overtaking listed as a contributory action to the accident. • The most common time for YDA Fatalities is 3 a.m. on Sunday morning. 59% of all YDA Fatalities occurred on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. • In 2000 the YDA fatality rate (fatalities per 100,000 population or registered vehicles) was highest in counties Donegal, Louth, Laois and Monaghan. • In 1999 Irelands fatality rate for persons aged between 15-24 ranked 6th lowest of the 15 EU member States. (A)
Samenvatting