Young Drivers

Divera Twisk

SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research,

The Netherlands

The Road to Safety

Content of the study

– Accident analyses

– Factors explaining the high risk– Factors explaining the high risk

– Effective countermeasures

– New measures (ITS)

– Implementation strategies

Magnitude and forecast

• Young drivers: 27% of all driver fatalities but are

only 10% of the population in OECD countries

• For each killed young driver about 1.3 “others” die!

• Young driver fatalities in EU will increase as a result

of economic growth and motorization, in particular

in former communist countries

NetherlandsIreland

UKPoland

Czech Rep.

average value from 2000 &

Countries and development

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

New ZealandAustria

USASpain

CanadaSwitzerland

FinlandItaly

DenmarkHungarySwedenNorway

Netherlands average value from 2000 &

2003*

average value from 1985 &

1990**

FPL

CZ

IS

DKFINCAN

NZ

AUTP

SLO

H

USA

AUS

E

33.83

Average

value

high old/

high young

high old/

low young

JNL

N

KORDK

GER

FINS

CHUK

AUS

0

33.83

0 81.39

Average value

[Ages 18-24]

value

[Ages

35-59]

low old/

high young

low old/

low young

Why are these countries so different?

1. Different levels of motorization and rapid increase in

motorization leads to deterioration (e.g. former eastern

Germany)

2. General safety levels: countries safe for experienced

drivers are also safe for novice drivers

Priority 0: Benefits from general road safety

Strict drink and drug driving laws and

enforcement:

• random breath testing• random breath testing

Seat belt use:

• reminders

Speed management:

• Camera’s

Vehicle design:

• Old cars less protection

Safe infrastructure

• Simple, forgiving, inherently safe

Contributing factors

• Biological immaturity

• Lack of experience

Source : OECD

(2006) young

drivers: the road to

safety

Can’t you watchout?!

• Poor self assessment

• High exposure to dangerous conditions

Contributing factors

• Biological immaturity

• Lack of experience

Source : OECD

(2006) young

drivers: the road to

safety

Can’t you watchout?!

• Poor self assessment

• High exposure to dangerous conditions

50

75

100

125

150

50

75

100

125

150

Source : OECD

(2006) young

drivers: the road to

safety

High exposure to dangerous conditions

0

25

50

0

Monday

6 12 18 0

Tuesday

6 12 18 0

Wednesday

6 12 18 0

Thursday

6 12 18 0

Friday

6 12 18 0

Saturday

6 12 18 0

Sunday

6 12 18

0

25

50

0

Monday

6 12 18 0

Tuesday

6 12 18 0

Wednesday

6 12 18 0

Thursday

6 12 18 0

Friday

6 12 18 0

Saturday

6 12 18 0

Sunday

6 12 18

Killed in Road Crashes, by Hour 1

8-25 Year-Olds and Day

European Union 15 (minus Germany), 2004

Contributing factors

• Biological immaturity

• Lack of experience

Source : OECD

(2006) young

drivers: the road to

safety

Can’t you watchout?!

• Poor self assessment

• High exposure to dangerous conditions

Contributing factors

• Biological immaturity

• Lack of experience

Source : OECD

(2006) young

drivers: the road to

safety

Can’t you watchout?!

• Poor self assessment

• High exposure to dangerous conditions

20

25

30

35

age

Accident risk per km and experience/age

0

5

10

15

20

18 23 28 33 38 43

license 18 license 21 license 23-27 license 30-40 autonomous age effect

Experience + age

Bron :

Vlakveld

2005

Contributing factors

• Biological immaturity

• Lack of experience

Source : OECD

(2006) young

drivers: the road to

safety

Can’t you watchout?!

• Poor self assessment

• High exposure to dangerous conditions

Risk taking?

True or False?

Adolescents feel invulnerable

(true = hands up)

Not

true

Adolescents under estimate risks(true = hands up)

Not

true

Young adolescents do not learn from negative consequences ?

true(true: hands up)

true

False

Do we know enough about adolescents?

(true: hands up)

3

011

1518

2330

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

0

Age

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

Presentation Rob Ruyter University

Maastricht

3

011

1518

2330

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

0

Age

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

3

011

1518

2330

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

0

Age

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

3

011

1518

2330

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

0

Age

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

3

011

1518

2330

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

0

Age

cognitive control system

social-emotional system

logical reasoning

risk behaviour

Presentation Rob Ruyter University

Maastricht

All youngsters equally dangerous?

7

8

•The development of accidents

involvement per kilometre

• inexperienced drivers (18-24)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Netherlands Sweden United

Kingdom

Netherlands Sweden United

Kingdom

vrouw vrouw vrouw man man man

1994

2001

• inexperienced drivers (18-24)

versus experienced drivers (35-50)

•in Sweden, GB and NL

Bron: Lynam, Nilsson, Morsink, Sexton, Twisk, Goldenbeld, & Wegman (2005) SUNflower +6 : An

extended study of the development of road safety in Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the

Netherlands.

All conditions equally risky?

100

125

150

100

125

150

0

25

50

75

0

Monday

6 12 18 0

Tuesday

6 12 18 0

Wednesday

6 12 18 0

Thursday

6 12 18 0

Friday

6 12 18 0

Saturday

6 12 18 0

Sunday

6 12 18

Source: EU

0

25

50

75

0

Monday

6 12 18 0

Tuesday

6 12 18 0

Wednesday

6 12 18 0

Thursday

6 12 18 0

Friday

6 12 18 0

Saturday

6 12 18 0

Sunday

6 12 18

18-25 Year-Olds Killed in Road Crashes, by Hour and DayEuropean Union 15 (minus Germany), 2004

Priority 1: more drivingexperience before solo driving

Pre-license training with Pre-license training with

higher levels of practice

under supervised driving

conditions

Practicemakesperfect

Priority 2: Protection in solo driving

• Restrictions on peer age passengers;

• Restrict night-time driving (more difficult

• Zero alcohol for young drivers (widely accepted)

• Restrict night-time driving (more difficultto implement)

Restrictions can be lifted progressively as

drivers gain experience

Priority 3: training and licensing

• Focus on self-evaluation and risk increasing factors

• Research benefits of driver training

• Improve driving test

• Key elements in test are key elements in training

Priority 4: new technology

• Explore, develop and test technology

• Monitoring of solo driving restrictions (smart key)

• Rewards and enforcement green box

• Giving useful driver support (not yet available)

Dissimination

• Iceland

• Cyprus

• Netherlands

• “ Fit to drive” conference Vienna

• “ Brake” conference London UK

• “ Traffic behaviour seminar” London UK

• Young driver safety in Europe, Arizona

• Workshop on Young driver safety TRB, USA

• High level group EU, Paris.

Conclusions

• General safety measures first

• Accompanied driving as instrument to boost experience

• Restrictive measures: only zero alcohol in the short term

• Demerit systems too low in effects

• 18 will always be 18 (?)

• More (other?) measures needed to target young males