Young Drivers Divera Twisk SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research, The Netherlands The Road to Safety
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