The impact of driver education on self-reported collisions among young drivers with a graduated licence. Accident Analysis and Prevention 38, 35-42. Footnote 1 It should be noted that this paper only focuses on the changes that were made to the GDL system

Abstract In this study, we assess the impact of driver education on the risk of collisions in a Graduated Licensing System (GLS). Ontario's GLS requires all new drivers to successfully pass through two stages of graduated license (referred to as G1 and G2, respectively) before full licensure is granted. Surveys of driving behaviour and related factors were administered to Grades 11 and 12 students with a graduated license in seven Ontario schools in 1996 and 1998. A total of 1533 students completed the survey in 2 years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significantly lower odds of self-reported collision involvement among G1 license holders with driver education (OR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.12-0.83). No significant effects were observed for G2 license holders. Other significant predictors of collisions include sex of driver, months of licensure and kilometers driven for G2 license holders. These results suggest that the impact of driver education may be dependent on the stage of driver learning in which it occurs

Age group differences in self-reported aggressive driving perpetration and victimization

Aim: This study examined whether the predictors of self-reported aggressive driving perpetration and victimization vary across age groups. Method: Based on data from a general-population telephone survey conducted from July 2002 through June 2005, three groups of drivers were examined: 18–34 year-olds (N = 1522), 35–54 year-olds (N = 2726), and 55 years of age or older (N = 1883). For each age group sample, logistic regression analyses examined self-reported aggressive driving perpetration and victimization in the last 12 months by measures of driving exposure, heavy drinking, cannabis use, and drinking-driving, while controlling for demographic factors. Results: The prevalence of aggressive driving perpetration within the past year was highest for the youngest age group (51%), followed by the middle-aged group (37%), and then the oldest age group (18%). The same pattern of results was found for prevalence of aggressive driving victimization (54%, 47%, and 31%, respectively). Controlling for demographic factors, the predictors of perpetration were generally consistent across the age groups. The logistic regression model for the youngest drivers revealed that those who reported stressful driving, heavy drinking, and cannabis use had significantly increased odds of reporting perpetration of aggressive driving. For middle-aged and older drivers, stressful driving, driving on busy roads, cannabis use, and driving after drinking were associated with perpetration. In addition, increased mileage contributed to perpetration in the oldest group. The findings for victimization by aggressive driving were similar. The logistic regression model for the youngest age group identified stressful driving, cannabis use, and higher annual mileage as being associated with victimization. For the oldest age group, these same variables were significant predictors of victimization, in addition to driving on busy roads. The logistic regression for the middle-aged group identified the same predictors as that of the oldest age group; however, interestingly driving after drinking was found to predict lower victimization among middle-aged drivers. Conclusions: Although the prevalence of aggressive driving perpetration and victimization declined with age, the factors that contributed to aggressive driving remained generally stable across the lifespan. The results suggest that efforts to reduce aggressive driving among young drivers may prove to be effective for drivers from all age groups

Preliminary Results for Street Racing Among Adults in Ontario: Relations to Alcohol and Cannabis Use (letter)

Reproduced with permission of the Canadian Public Health Association.Street racing has a long history, dating back to the 1920s shortly after cars became cheap, plentiful and available to the masses. Many movies and songs idolize street racers, e.g., “Rebel Without a Cause” and “The Fast and the Furious”. There have been several recent instances where street racers or innocent bystanders have been fatally injured. Street racing is now a problem in countries worldwide, with deaths and injuries reported in many. However, little is known about the factors associated with this behaviour. We examined street racing and its links to various alcohol and cannabis measures among adults in Ontario

Bullying and Hazardous Driving Among Youthful Drivers (letter to the editor)

Reproduced with permission of the Canadian Public Health Association.Bullying in schools is an important social, psychological and educational problem. Research on this behaviour is available from diverse countries. Reported rates of students being bullied range from 10% to 50%. A recent Ontario study found that 20.7% of students engaged in bullying. Bullying behaviour is a marker for antisocial development. Perpetrators engage in antisocial behaviour later in life, and have higher levels of criminal thinking, aggression and psychopathology. More research is needed on how bullying relates to aggressive behaviours outside of school situations. Hazardous driving, including driving after drinking and drug use, and street racing, are aggressive in nature. Several characteristics of bullies are shared with hazardous drivers, e.g., being male, consuming alcohol, and engaging in other antisocial behaviours. However, no studies show how bullying relates to hazardous driving. Here, we report associations between self-reported bullying perpetration and hazardous driving in a large, representative sample of students in Canadian schools

Does gender moderate the relationship between driver aggression and its risk factors?

Aim: The current study assessed gender as a potential moderator of the relationship between self-reported driver aggression and various demographic variables, general and driving-related risk factors. Methods: Using data from a general-population telephone survey conducted from July 2002 through June 2005, two approaches to binary logistic regression were adopted. Based on the full dataset (n = 6259), the initial analysis was a hierarchical-entry regression examining self-reported driver aggression in the last 12 months. All demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, income, education, marital status), general risk factors (i.e., psychological distress, binge drinking, cannabis use), and driving-related risk factors (i.e., driving exposure, stressful driving, exposure to busy roads, driving after drinking, driving after cannabis use) were entered in the first block, and all two-way interactions with gender were entered stepwise in the second block. The subsequent analysis involved dividing the sample by gender and conducting logistic regressions with main effects only for males (n = 2921) and females (n = 3338) separately. Results: Although the prevalence of driver aggression in the current sample was slightly higher among males (38.5%) than females (32.9%), the difference was small, and gender did not enter as a significant predictor of driver aggression in the overall logistic regression. In that analysis, difficulty with social functioning and being older were associated with a reduced risk of driver aggression. Marital status and education were unrelated to aggression, and all other variables were associated with an increased risk of aggression. Gender was found to moderate the relationships between driver aggression and only three variables: income, psychological distress, and driving exposure. Separate analyses on the male and female sub-samples also found differences in the predictive value of income and driving exposure; however, the difference for psychological distress could not be detected using this separate regression approach. The secondary analysis also identified slight differences in the predictive value of four of the risk factors, where the odds ratios for both males and females were in the same direction but only one of the two was statistically significant. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the importance of conducting the gender analysis using both regression approaches. With few exceptions, factors that were predictive of driver aggression were generally the same for both male and female drivers

The impact of probable anxiety and mood disorder on self-reported collisions: A population study

Background: Individuals diagnosed with psychiatric disorder are at significantly increased risk of death and serious injury, to which motor vehicle collisions may be important contributors. This study examined the association between probable anxiety or mood disorder (AMD) and self-reported collision risk in a large representative sample of the adult population in Ontario. Methods: Based on data from a regionally stratified general-population telephone survey of adults conducted from 2002 through 2009 (N=12,830), a logistic regression analysis examined self-reported collision involvement in the previous 12 months by measures of demographic characteristics, driving exposure, impaired driving behaviour, and probable AMD. Results: Controlling for demographic variables and potential confounders, probable AMD was associated with an increased risk of collision involvement (OR=1.78, 95% CI=1.37, 2.31). Limitations: The use of self-report measures and the potential for bias created by groups excluded because they do not have access to landline telephones represent limitations to the current findings. Nevertheless, the benefits of a large sample derived from general population survey data far outweigh these limitations. Conclusions: The results suggest that the increased risk of injury and mortality associated with some psychiatric disorders is at least partially related to increased risk of collision involvement. The magnitude of the increase in risk associated with probable AMD is similar to that seen among individuals who drive after drinking or using cannabis. In view of these findings, more work to understand this risk among individuals experiencing probable AMD and how it can be avoided is necessary