Road Safety Observatory

The first link contained within the "Additional Resources" section of the RAC Foundation document is:

Road Safety Observatory www.roadsafetyobservatory.com

The data contained within this site is vast, and the links section within it is extremely comprehensive.  I took a look at what pops up under the heading of “Young drivers” as this is potentially going to be my target audience for my intervention.  As can be seen the data contained within (and below is a mere drop in the ocean of what is available) is pretty compelling reading.  It would seem that the only reason why the number of deaths involving young drivers has declined of late is due to the fact that less of them, proportionately, are learning how to drive (for a variety of reasons). 

In 2015, nearly 15% of all car occupants killed or seriously injured were young car drivers aged 17-25 years.

While driver age is a risk factor for collisions (with the youngest new drivers at most risk), the experience drivers gain in the first six months after passing their test plays a more significant role in reducing their collision rates.

Evidence from a range of studies suggests that young drivers may overrate their driving ability and see driving as a matter of ‘natural talent’ which can be judged by how confident a driver feels. This has important implications for understanding young drivers’ attitudes in relation to road safety.

There is little research evidence that increased formal driver training, before, during and after learning to drive, improves safety. A number of themes have emerged that offer the hope of improving the effectiveness of training, in making training address the cognitive and attitudinal aspects of driving. 

International evidence on Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) indicates an overall effectiveness of GDL in reducing crashes of young drivers.

The proportion of young adults (aged 17-20) with a full driving licence has decreased since the early 1990s. In 1995/97, 43 percent of those aged 17-20 held a full licence, compared with a low of 27 percent in 2004 and 31 percent in 2011.

A Young Drivers Factsheet (RRCGB) in 2009 reported that young drivers aged 17 to 24 years were over represented in car accident statistics.  In 2009, they accounted for 12 percent of all licence holders, but of all accidents, 26% (over 42,000) involved at least one young car driver.

In 2009, young car drivers were most often driving straight ahead immediately before the accident (46%)

In 2009, negotiating a curve, bending left or right, accounted for twice the proportion of young car driver manoeuvres compared to older car drivers prior to an accident. The figures were 14% for young car drivers versus 7 percent for older car drivers. Most young drivers (43 percent) were not at a junction when they were involved in an accident compared with 38 percent of older car drivers.

A survival analysis of the length of time to new drivers’ first accident found three factors were associated with longer ‘survival’ rates: increased age, driving experience (possibly driving in busy town centres and in the rain) and a self-reported driving style characterised as ‘attentive, careful, responsible and safe’.

There is a need for greater clarity about what needs to be learned in order to drive safely and to encourage learners to take responsibility for their learning, through effective progress reporting and self-evaluation.

Learner drivers with a more tolerant attitude to their own driving violations (many of them speed-related) tend to go on to have a higher post-test accident liability, based on measures from the Attitudes to Driving Violations Scale (ADVS). 

The current arrangements for training and testing appear to motivate drivers to apply for the test as soon as they think they have a moderate chance of passing. In order to improve their safety on the roads, learners and new drivers need to be encouraged to learn more than what is currently tested – for example, getting experience of the full range of driving conditions, such as night-time driving and driving in bad weather and on motorways.

There is little research evidence that increased formal driver training improves safety. A number of themes have emerged that offer the hope of improving the effectiveness of training, one being the desirability of improving the hazard perception skills of learner drivers.

National Travel Survey data indicates that the overall proportion of young adults with a full driving licence has decreased since the early 1990s. It also provides reasons for not learning to drive which vary according to age with main reasons including not needing to drive, not being interested in driving and costs of driving.

RRCGB data from 2009 (RRCGB Young Drivers Factsheet) indicated that accidents involving young drivers were more likely to lead to a greater number of casualties compared with older drivers. Most of the young drivers involved in accidents were male. Men also made up a higher proportion of casualties in accidents involving young drivers.

The timing of accidents in 2009 (RRCGB Young Drivers Factsheet) involving young car drivers mirrored the patterns of all drivers with most happening on Fridays and during morning and evening rush hours on weekdays. Although more young driver accidents happened on Friday and Saturday nights (8pm – 4am).

In 2009 (RRCGB Young Drivers Factsheet), most accidents involving young drivers took place in urban locations but were less serious than those in rural places. Young Drivers were also most likely to be driving straight ahead and most often were not at a junction. These proportions were only slightly higher than those for older drivers with the exception of negotiating a curve.

In 2009 (RRCGB Young Drivers Factsheet), most accidents were attributed to ‘failed to look properly’, when a contributory factor was recorded. Young driver accidents were also more likely to be attributed to factors related to inexperience, which reflects what is known about the relative importance of inexperience in causing young driver accidents. There were also differences in reported contributory factors for females and males. While impairment by alcohol was a contributory factor in a very small percentage of young driver accidents, young drivers were overrepresented compared with older drivers.

Traffic crashes are the single greatest killer of 15-24 year olds in OECD countries. It is estimated that over 8,500 young drivers of passenger vehicles were killed in 2004. Death rates for young, novice drivers have decreased in many countries in recent decades. However, these reductions have mirrored overall improvements in road safety, and death rates for 18-24 year old drivers typically remain more than double those of older drivers

Data from the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK have shown that young male drivers' relative risk of crash fatality, compared with that of older drivers, has increased considerably over the last decade. This was measured by fatal accidents per million kilometres driven. (Young Drivers: The Road to Safety, 2006 OECD Transport Research Centre)

Two studies investigating the learning to drive process (RSRR81 and RSRR 87) suggest that many young drivers were insufficiently prepared for the driving test mainly because they lacked enough and sufficiently varied driving experience (e.g. weather conditions, rural and urban roads) . It seems that while most young drivers take some formal lessons, many do not engage sufficiently with the learning to drive process particularly in terms of using study materials and using their theoretical learning in their driving practice. Overall, the evidence suggests that many young drivers do not develop a good understanding of safe driving as part of the learning to drive process.

A study of how a cohort of young adults learned to drive (RSRR 81) in 2008 found that:  Virtually all respondents (99%) took some lessons with an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI). For all respondents, the median value was 40 hours of lessons.

Evidence from a variety of sources suggests that some young driver characteristics are more likely to be associated with unsafe driving and/or accident liability. These include younger age and particular personality characteristics (e.g. sensation seeking, external locus of control). Having an accident may also lead to changes in driving style. In one study, young drivers who had been involved in an accident reported that their driving was less confident afterwards and for female drivers, also less decisive and more prone to errors.

A range of studies identify problems related to the training of young drivers, mainly related to the lack of motivation of young drivers to take responsibility for improving their driving. This is related to the content of driver training which does not address driving on a cognitive and attitudinal level. Suggestions for how to address these problems related to young driver attitudes and perceptions of driving are identified in some studies. These include tapping into parental influence and working with young drivers’ perceptions of safe driving, ‘good driving’ and driving cultures – for example, the social and emotional aspects of driving identified in the RSRR 74 study.

The practical test focuses too much on a candidate’s ability to control the car safely at the expense of other knowledge and skills. (RSRR No.87) 

Parents are an important long-term influence on young drivers’ behaviour, and there is a need to encourage parents to reflect on what messages they send to their children about driving and road safety. Information and education should include efforts to identify and publicise the positive behaviour of adolescents and young drivers, and to portray peer norms as pro-safety. (RSWP No. 18)

Four critical gaps in current approaches to driver learning and testing are evident: 

1. The relevance gap. Few young people – pre-drivers, learners or novices – see the standards in the test (and other rules of driving) as relevant to ‘real driving’. 

2. The measures gap. Young people have no good way of measuring the competence of other drivers other than their own feeling of safety, and have no good way of measuring their own competence as drivers other than their feeling of confidence. 

3. The incentives gap. There are a number of disincentives for young people to spend longer improving their driving pre-test, and few real incentives to carry on getting better after passing. 

4. The motivations gap. A number of young people do not see any real need to get better, as they start the learning process already confident in their own talent which is reinforced by their rapidly mastering physical control of the car. (RSRR No. 86)

Overall, the evidence suggests that pre-driver, driver education and training provision and testing is not sufficiently effective in helping young drivers to drive safely and reduce accident risk. The evidence to support this come from a range of reviews of evidence (TRL INS005, TRL PPR529, RSRR 97) and primary research studies discussed in the research findings section (particularly RSRR 81 and RSRR 87). Because the accident rates of young drivers are higher in the initial post-test period and declines sharply thereafter, gaining driving experience post-test is the main cause of the reduction of young driver accidents. Of course, this means that young drivers are at continued risk in the immediate post-test period and training and education measures do not seem to have a direct impact on reducing this risk.

Risky driving behaviours and factors related to these, such as speed choice, which has been shown to be linked with accidents, are not effectively addressed in the driving test. This contributes to the failure of the driving test in helping to produce safe and competent drivers. (RSRR No.87)

It is interesting to read the above.  Much of which confirms what swirls around the driving training industry in daily chatter.  I think the point being made about driving experience is really important.  My intensive driving courses which are 4-6 hours in duration, enable pupils to travel distances that would simply not be possible with traditional driving lessons.  For example, residents in Boston can drive to Peterborough to experience fast moving dual-carriageways that do not exist in Boston, they get to experience large roundabouts that also do not exist.  In the process of getting there, they can travel either on fast moving single-carriageway roads such as the A16, A17, A52 or they can choose to travel on windy rural roads.  Likewise, Peterborough residents have the time to travel to Grantham and experience driving on hills that Peterborough does not have.  I think these experiences for my pupils are incredibly valuable.

Regarding the points made in the research about the responsibility of a pupil for controlling how they learn it reminds me of a conversation recently with one of my younger pupils.  On the de-brief of a training session where she had expressed satisfaction with how she performed, I asked her “And if I was to ask you Tash to give me 2 reasons why you felt you managed to do so well today, what would you say?”  (I had no particular reason for asking for 2, I was just hoping that asking for 2 might require a bit more thought).  Her reply after about 5 seconds thought was “I drove slower, and I concentrated more”.  I thought to myself, if I could bottle that response up and sell it to my pupils, I would be a millionaire.

Other links on their website included:

Search by Local Authority where fatalities occurred between 1999-2010 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15975720

Another map for accident hotspots, this one goes up to 2016 http://www.crashmap.co.uk/Search