Premium
Young driver restrictions: Does the evidence support them?
Author(s) -
Blackman Ross,
Cheffins Tracy,
Veitch Craig,
O’Connor Teresa
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1584.2008.01012.x
Subject(s) - crash , psychological intervention , context (archaeology) , legislation , human factors and ergonomics , injury prevention , occupational safety and health , poison control , suicide prevention , rural area , population , medicine , geography , environmental health , demography , transport engineering , engineering , computer science , political science , nursing , archaeology , pathology , sociology , law , programming language
Objective: To assess the suitability of Queensland's graduated licensing system in the context of rural and remote Queensland.Design: Age‐based comparison of crash data collected by the Rural and Remote Road Safety Study (RRRSS).Setting: Rural and remote North Queensland.Participants: A total of 367 vehicle controllers aged 16 years or over hospitalised at Townsville, Cairns or Mount Isa for at least 24 hours, or killed, as a result of a vehicle crash.Measurements: Specific RRRSS variables are assessed in relation to Queensland's graduated licensing program, including rates of unlicensed driving/riding, late night crashes, crashes with multiple passengers, contributing factors in crashes and vehicle types involved.Results: While people between 16 and 24 years of age comprise 16% of the target population, 25% of crashes meeting RRRSS criteria involved a vehicle controller in that age group. 12.8% of all cases involved an unlicensed driver/rider, within which 66% were below 25 years of age. Young drivers/riders were represented in 50% of crashes occurring between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., and 33% of crashes in vehicles with multiple passengers. Motorcyclists represented about 40% of cases in both age groups. There were no significant differences between age groups in vehicle types used, or circumstances that contributed to crashes.Conclusions: The general overrepresentation of young drivers/riders in rural and remote North Queensland supports tailored interventions, such as graduated licensing. However, while some measures in the legislation are well supported, problems surrounding unlicensed driving/riding might be exacerbated.