Differences between provisionally licensed drivers who always display P plates and those who do not

Like most Australian states, the New South Wales Graduated Driver Licensing system requires all provisionally licensed drivers to display ‘P plates’ on their vehicle to indicate their licence status and facilitate enforcement. This paper examines whether the display of P plates increases compliance with driving laws in New South Wales. The driving behaviours of provisional drivers who reported always displaying their P plates were compared with those of drivers who sometimes drove without displaying their P plates. While no differences were found between the two groups on some behaviours, provisional drivers who did not always display their P plates indicated that they were less likely to obey the provisional speed limit and more likely to break the road rules if they knew they would not be caught. These results suggest that the requirement to display a P plate remains a priority to facilitate more general traffic law enforcement initiatives.

The role of parents and non-parents in the supervision of learner drivers in Australia

The purpose of this study was to contrast the role of parental and non-parental (sibling, other family and non-family) supervisors in the supervision of learner drivers in graduated driver licensing systems. The sample consisted of 522 supervisors from the Australian states of Queensland (n = 204, 39%) and New South Wales (n = 318, 61%). The learner licence requirements in these two states are similar, although learners in Queensland are required to accrue 100 h of supervision in a log book while those in New South Wales are required to accrue 120 h. Approximately 50 per cent of the sample (n = 255) were parents of the learner driver while the remainder of the sample were either siblings (n = 72, 13.8%), other family members (n = 153, 29.3%) or non-family (n = 114, 21.8%). Parents were more likely than siblings, other family or non-family members to be the primary supervisor of the learner driver. Siblings provided fewer hours of practice when compared with other supervisor types while the median and mode suggest that parents provided the most hours of practice to learner drivers. This study demonstrates that non-parental supervisors, such as siblings, other family members and non-family, at least in jurisdictions that require 100 or 120 h of practice, are important in facilitating learner drivers to accumulate sufficient supervised driving practice.

“I drove after drinking alcohol” and other risky driving behaviours reported by young novice drivers in Queensland, Australia

Background. Volitional risky driving behaviours such as drink- and drug-driving (i.e. substance-impaired driving) and speeding contribute to the overrepresentation of young novice drivers in road crash fatalities, and crash risk is greatest during the first year of independent driving in particular. Aims. To explore the: 1) self-reported compliance of drivers with road rules regarding substance-impaired driving and other risky driving behaviours (e.g., speeding, driving while tired), one year after progression from a Learner to a Provisional (intermediate) licence; and 2) interrelationships between substance-impaired driving and other risky driving behaviours (e.g., crashes, offences, and Police avoidance). Methods. Drivers (n = 1,076; 319 males) aged 18-20 years were surveyed regarding their sociodemographics (age, gender) and self-reported driving behaviours including crashes, offences, Police avoidance, and driving intentions. Results. A relatively small proportion of participants reported driving after taking drugs (6.3% of males, 1.3% of females) and drinking alcohol (18.5% of males, 11.8% of females). In comparison, a considerable proportion of participants reported at least occasionally exceeding speed limits (86.7% of novices), and risky behaviours like driving when tired (83.6% of novices). Substance-impaired driving was associated with avoiding Police, speeding, risky driving intentions, and self-reported crashes and offences. Forty-three percent of respondents who drove after taking drugs also reported alcohol-impaired driving. Discussion and Conclusions. Behaviours of concern include drink driving, speeding, novice driving errors such as misjudging the speed of oncoming vehicles, violations of graduated driver licensing passenger restrictions, driving tired, driving faster if in a bad mood, and active punishment avoidance. Given the interrelationships between the risky driving behaviours, a deeper understanding of influential factors is required to inform targeted and general countermeasure implementation and evaluation during this critical driving period. Notwithstanding this, a combination of enforcement, education, and engineering efforts appear necessary to improve the road safety of the young novice driver, and for the drink-driving young novice driver in particular.

Crash involvement patterns of unlicensed drivers and riders in Queensland. Report to Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads

Unlicensed driving remains a serious problem for road safety, despite ongoing improvements in traffic law enforcement practices and technology. While it does not play a direct causative role in road crashes, unlicensed driving undermines the integrity of the driver licensing system and is associated with a range of high-risk behaviours. This report examines official road crash data from Queensland for the years 2003-08 to compare the crash involvement patterns of unlicensed drivers with those of licensed drivers and explore the scope and nature of unlicensed driving. This study replicates and extends upon two previous studies examining the involvement of unlicensed drivers in crashes in Queensland (Watson, 2004a; 2004b; Watson & Steinhardt, 2006).

An examination of the factors contributing to unlicensed driving. Report to Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads

Unlicensed driving is a serious problem in many countries, despite ongoing improvements in traffic law enforcement practices and technology. Unlike alcohol impairment and speeding, unlicensed driving does not play a direct causative role in road crashes. However it represents a major problem for road safety in two respects. Firstly, it undermines the effectiveness of driver licensing systems by preventing the allocation of demerit points and reducing the impact of licence loss (Watson, 2004b). Secondly, there is a growing body of evidence linking unlicensed driving to a cluster of high-risk behaviours including drink driving, speeding, failure to wear seat belts and motorcycle use (Griffin & DeLaZerda, 2000; Harrison, 1997; Watson, 1997, 2004b). Consistent with this, utilising the quasi-induced exposure method, Watson (2004a) estimated that in Queensland, unlicensed drivers were almost three times more likely to be involved in a reported crash than licensed drivers.

Unlicensed and unregistered vehicle project: Summary report. Report to Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads

Unlicensed driving remains a serious problem for road safety, despite ongoing improvements in traffic law enforcement practices and technology. While it does not play a direct causative role in road crashes, unlicensed driving undermines the integrity of the driver licensing system and is associated with a range of high-risk behaviours. The Queensland Transport and Main Roads (TMR) commissioned a program of research with separate components relating to different aspects of unlicensed driving. Drawing on Australian and international studies, the Unlicensed and Unregistered Vehicle (UUV) project explores the nature of unlicensed driving in Queensland, consolidates the available research evidence and identifies gaps in current knowledge relating to the driving behaviours of unlicensed drivers.

Prevalence and characteristics of road traffic injuries among young drivers in Oman, 2009-2011

Objectives Studies from different parts of the world have indicated that the impact of road traffic incidents disproportionally affects young adults. Few known studies have been forthcoming from Arabian Gulf countries. Within Oman, a high proportion of the population is under the age of 20. Coupled with the drastic increase of motorization in recent years there is a need to understand the state of road safety among young people in Oman. The current research aimed to explore the prevalence and characteristics of road traffic injuries among young drivers aged 17-25 years. Methods Crash data from 2009-2011 was extracted from the Directorate General of Traffic, Royal Oman Police (ROP) database in Oman. The data was analyzed to explore the impact of road crashes on young people (17-25 years), the characteristics of young driver crashes and how these differ from older drivers and to identify key predictors of fatalities in young driver crashes. Results Overall, young people were over-represented in injuries and fatalities within the sample time period. While it is true that many young people in crashes were driving at the time, it was also evident that young people were often a victim in a crash caused by someone else. Thus, to reduce the impact of road crashes on young people, there is a need to generally address road safety within Oman. When young drivers were involved in crashes they were predominantly male. The types of crashes these drivers have can be broadly attributed to risk taking and inexperience. Speeding and night time driving were the key risk factors for fatalities. Conclusion The results highlight the need to address young driver safety in Oman. From these findings, the introduction of a graduated driver licensing system with night time driving restrictions could significantly improve young driver safety.

Observations of road safety behaviours and practices of motorcycle rickshaw drivers in Lahore, Pakistan

Motorcycle Rickshaws (MRs) are an informal paratransit mode in Pakistan. They are locally manufactured and very popular but there are concerns about their crash involvement and overall safety. The first study of the current PhD program revealed that rickshaws (both MRs and auto-rickshaws) were involved in 51,992 road crashes attended by emergency ambulances in Punjab province, Pakistan between 2011-2013. This study aims to examine the road safety behaviours and practices of Motorcycle Rickshaw Drivers (MRDs) that may be contributing to these crashes. MRDs were observed at 12 major signalised intersections in Lahore. Vehicle characteristics and driver behaviours were recorded using a paper-based survey between 9am-7pm for a full week in May 2015. Of the 500 MRDs observed, about 23.4% appeared to be younger than the minimum driver licensing age of 18 years. More than half (52.6%) of the MRDs entered on the red light and 17.4% crossed when the signal was turning from yellow to green or red. MR traffic conflicts were observed in 62.8% of cases and one crash and 15 near-miss crashes were witnessed. Additionally, about half of MRs were overloaded, no MRD wore a helmet, and 3.8% were using a mobile phone while driving. This study provides the first scientific evidence to substantiate public concerns regarding the safety of MRs. It demonstrates that about a quarter of MRDs are underage,almost half of MRs are overloaded and more than half disobey traffic signals. This research could inform authorities to manage MR related transport and road safety issues.

Fitness to drive and cannabis: Validation of two blood THCCOOH thresholds to distinguish occasional users from heavy smokers.

Many studies based on either an experimental or an epidemiological approach, have shown that the ability to drive is impaired when the driver is under the influence of cannabis. Baseline performances of heavy users remain impaired even after several weeks of abstinence. Symptoms of cannabis abuse and dependence are generally considered incompatible with safe driving. Recently, it has been shown that traffic safety can be increased by reporting the long-term unfit drivers to the driver licensing authorities and referring the cases for further medical assessment. Evaluation of the frequency of cannabis use is a prerequisite for a reliable medical assessment of the fitness to drive. In a previous paper we advocated the use of two thresholds based on 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH) concentration in whole blood to help to distinguish occasional cannabis users (≤3μg/L) from heavy regular smokers (≥40μg/L). These criteria were established on the basis of results obtained in a controlled cannabis smoking study with placebo, carried out with two groups of young male volunteers; the first group was characterized by a heavy use (≥10 joints/month) while the second group was made up of occasional users smoking at most 1 joint/week. However, to date, these cutoffs have not been adequately assessed under real conditions. Their validity can now be evaluated and confirmed with 146 traffic offenders' real cases in which the whole blood cannabinoid concentrations and the frequency of cannabis use are known. The two thresholds were not challenged by the presence of ethanol (40% of cases) and of other therapeutic and illegal drugs (24%). Thus, we propose the following procedure that can be very useful in the Swiss context but also in other countries with similar traffic policies: if the whole blood THCCOOH concentration is higher than 40μg/L, traffic offenders must be directed first and foremost toward medical assessment of their fitness to drive. This evaluation is not recommended if the THCCOOH concentration is lower than 3μg/L and if the self-rated frequency of cannabis use is less than 1 time/week. A THCCOOH level between these two thresholds cannot be reliably interpreted. In such a case, further medical assessment and follow-up of the fitness to drive are also suggested, but with lower priority.

Medida da preditividade de instrumentos psicológicos nas avaliações psicológicas de condutores

The object of this study was to identify the possibility of predicting the involvement in traffic infractions from the results of the psychological tests carried out by psychologists specialized in the process of driver licensing in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN). The proposal consisted in identifying the penalty points recorded in national driving licenses (CNH) and identifying the corresponding tests and scores obtained, verifying if the average scores in the tests of drivers with and without an infraction record were significantly different and if there is any relation between the test scores and the frequency of the infractions. The results of the psychological instruments were collected in two moments the first being in the act of acquisition of the CNH and the second being during license renewal at the only certified clinic and at the DETRAN-RN. A population of 839 drivers of 14 municipalities were identified. 127 protocols of psychological tests were identified in the records of the DETRAN-RN (2002) and 76 at the clinic (2007), pointing out failures in the process of safekeeping of the psychological material, as well as in its retrieval from the record files. The sample was thus reduced to 68 drivers, all male, with age range between 18 and 41 years old, mean of 21,72 years old (DP = 5,24). 54 drivers were identified without a record of infraction, and 14 with a record. The latter committed 29 infractions. The penalty points recorded in their CNH ranged from 0 to 35 and the typical value of points (median) was zero. In the group with a record of infractions the number of points ranged between 3 and 35, mean of 10,79 (DP = 7,73). Differences were observed in the composition of the battery of tests in the two moments with the same subjects. The use of different tests to assess the same construct of the subject, first and second moment of assessment, did not allow for some analyzes with more efficient statistical proof. It was pointed out that five tests were not carried out and 118 were not corrected/analyzed. Significant differences between the groups were not identified with the psychological instruments used. In another attempt to establish differences between the means, the application of the independent t-Test evidenced a significant difference in the scores of the instruments of concentrated attention in 2002 (t = 2,21, gl = 25, p = 0.037) and of diffuse attention in 2002 (t = 2,37, gl = 24, p = 0.026). The results also did not evidence significant correlation between the scores of the tests and the penalty points of the infractions. Based on this study, it cannot be concluded with precision that the high or low scores are good criteria to determine that a driver will commit more or less traffic infractions, nor that the drivers with higher scores in the tests commit less infractions and vice-versa. Furthermore, the problems to find the instruments and the most basic data require a stronger monitoring on the part of the certified clinic and of the DETRAN-RN.

Environmental and Occupational Optometry. Lesson 9 (Course 2013-2014)

Tema 9: Visión y conducción. Actividad obligatoria nº 5.

Materials development of uniform guidelines. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

State laws on mopeds and motorized bicycles.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Traffic safety demonstration program modeling system. Volume IV: appendices.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Understanding youthful risk taking and driving.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.