The psychosocial characteristics and on-road behaviour of unlicensed drivers

Unlicensed driving remains a serious problem for road safety, despite ongoing improvements in traffic law enforcement practices and technology. While it does not play a direct causative role in road crashes, unlicensed driving undermines the integrity of the driver licensing system and is associated with a range of high-risk behaviours. This thesis documents three studies that were undertaken to explore the scope and nature of unlicensed driving, in order to develop more effective countermeasures to the behaviour.----- Study One utilised official road crash data from the Australian state of Queensland to compare the crash involvement patterns of unlicensed drivers with those of licensed drivers. The results confirmed that unlicensed driving is a relatively small, but significant road safety problem. Unlicensed drivers represent over 6% of the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 5% of those in serious injury crashes. Based on a quasi-induced exposure method, unlicensed drivers were found to be almost three times as likely to be involved in a crash than licensed drivers. In the event of a crash, those involving unlicensed drivers were twice as likely to result in a fatality or serious injury. Consistent with these results, the serious crashes involving unlicensed drivers were more likely to feature risky driving behaviours, such as drink driving, speeding and motorcycle use, than those involving licensed drivers.----- Study Two involved a cross-sectional survey of 309 unlicensed driving offenders who were recruited at the Brisbane Central Magistrates Court. The survey involved a face-to-face interview that took approximately 25 minutes to complete and achieved a response rate of 62.4%. A wide range of offenders participated in the study, including: disqualified and suspended drivers; expired licence holders; drivers without a current or appropriate licence; and those who had never been licensed. The results reinforced concerns about the on-road behaviour of unlicensed drivers. Almost one quarter of all the offenders reported driving unlicensed when they thought they might have been over the alcohol limit. Similarly, 25% reported exceeding the speed limit by 10 km/h or more on most or all occasions, while 15% admitted that they didn't always wear their seat belt. In addition, the results indicated that unlicensed drivers should not be viewed as a homogeneous group. Significant differences were found between the offender types in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics (age, education level, prior criminal convictions); driving history (prior convictions for unlicensed driving and other traffic offences); whether they were aware of being unlicensed; the degree to which they limited their driving while unlicensed; and their drink driving behaviour. In particular, a more deviant sub-group of offenders was identified, that included the disqualified, not currently licensed and never licensed drivers, who reported higher levels of prior criminal offending, alcohol misuse and self-reported drink driving. The results of Study Two also highlight the shortcomings of existing police enforcement practices. Almost one-third of the sample reported that they continued to drive unlicensed after being detected by the police (up until the time of the court hearing), while many offenders reported experiences of punishment avoidance. For example, over one third of the participants reported being pulled over by the police while driving unlicensed and not having their licence checked.----- Study Three involved the further analysis of the cross-sectional survey data to explore the factors contributing to unlicensed driving. It examined the influence of various personal, social and environmental factors on three aspects of the offenders' behaviour: the frequency of their driving while unlicensed; whether they continued to drive unlicensed after being detected; and their intentions to drive unlicensed in the future. This study was also designed to assess the capacity of a number of different theoretical perspectives to explain unlicensed driving behaviour, including deterrence theory and Akers' (1977) social learning theory. At an applied level, the results of Study Three indicated that personal and social factors exert the strongest influence over unlicensed driving behaviour. The main personal influences on unlicensed driving were: the need to drive for work purposes; exposure to punishment avoidance; personal attitudes to unlicensed driving; and anticipated punishments for the behaviour. The main social influences reflected the social learning construct of differential association, namely being exposed to significant others who both engage in unlicensed driving (behavioural dimension) and hold positive attitudes to the behaviour (normative dimension). At a theoretical level, the results of Study Three have two important implications for traffic psychology and criminology. Firstly, they provided partial support for Stafford and Warr's (1993) reconceptualisation of deterrence theory by demonstrating that the inclusion of punishment avoidance can improve the overall predictive utility of the perspective. Secondly, they suggested that social learning theory represents a more comprehensive framework for predicting illegal driving behaviours, such as unlicensed driving. This is consistent with Akers' (1977; 1990) assertion that formal deterrence processes can be subsumed within social learning theory.----- Together, the results of the three studies have important implications for road safety. Most importantly, they question the common assumption that unlicensed drivers drive in a more cautious manner to avoid detection. While the findings indicate that many offenders reduce their overall driving exposure in order to avoid detection, this does not appear to result in safer driving. While it remains possible that unlicensed drivers tend to act more cautiously than they would otherwise, it appears that their driving behaviour is primarily designed to reduce their chances of detection. In terms of countermeasures, the research indicates that a multi-strategy approach is required to address the problem of unlicensed driving. Unlicensed drivers do not represent a homogeneous group who are likely to be influenced by the threat of punishment alone. Rather, innovative strategies are required to address the wide range of factors that appear to encourage or facilitate the behaviour. Foremost among these are punishment avoidance and the need to drive for work purposes

An evaluation of the 'Skipper' designated driver program: Preliminary results

The general aim of designated driver programs is to reduce the level of drink driving by encouraging potential drivers to travel with a driver who has abstained from (or at least limited) consuming alcohol. Designated driver programs appear to be quite widespread around the world, however a limited number have been effectively evaluated. This paper reports the preliminary results from the outcome component of an evaluation of a designated driver program called 'Skipper', which was trialled in a provincial city in Queensland. In order to asses changes over time in self-reported designated driver awareness and behaviour, as well as drinking and drink driving behaviour, surveys were conducted three weeks prior to (baseline) and four months following (follow-up) the commencement of the trial. The sample comprised 413 individuals from representative drinking venues in the 'intervention area' (202 baseline; 211 follow-up) and 401 individuals from a 'comparison area' (203 baseline; 199 follow-up). The preliminary results indicate that awareness of the program in the intervention area was quite high four months following its introduction. The results also suggest that the 'Skipper' program and the related publicity had positive impacts on behaviour with there being an increase in the proportion of people participating in designated driver as a passenger and a tendency for those who act as designated drivers to do so more often. In addition, there was no evidence of an increase in alcohol consumption among the passengers of designated drivers compared to what otherwise may have been the case. It is less clear at this stage whether the 'Skipper' program has impacted on other behaviours of interest. Suggestions for further research and program improvement are discussed as well as limitations of the research

Factors influencing learner driver experiences [Road Safety Grant Report 2009-003]

When compared with more experienced drivers, new drivers have a higher crash risk. This study examined the experiences of learner drivers in Queensland and New South Wales in order to develop an understanding of the factors that influenced them while learning to drive. This will enable the development of more effective licensing systems. The research was informed by a number of heoretical perspectives, particularly social learning theory. Participants were recruited from driver licensing centres as soon as they passed their practical driving test to attain a provisional licence. Of those approached, 392 new drivers from capital cities and regional locations in Queensland and New South Wales completed a 35 minute telephone interview that collected information on a range of personal, social, environmental and socio-demographic factors. Participants were obtaining their licence before several changes to the licensing systems in both Queensland and New South Wales were made in 2007. Several implications for countermeasure development resulted from this research. These included ensuring licensing authorities carefully consider mandating a minimum number of hour of practice as it may inadvertently suppress the amount of practice that some learners obtain. Licensing authorities should consider the use of logbooks for learner drivers, even if there is no minimum amount of supervised practice required as it may assist learners and their supervisors structure their practice more effectively. This research also found that the confidence of learner drivers increases between when they first obtain their learner licence and when they obtain their provisional licence. This is an important issue requiring further attention by licensing authorities

Situational Factors Contributing to The Expression of Aggression on The Roads

This study explored the influence of situational factors on aggressive driving from within the framework of a frustration-aggression model of aggressive driving. Through the use of driving scenarios, a number of situational characteristics were manipulated to examine their effect on the level of anger reported by participants and their likely behavioural response. The situational characteristics examined included the age, gender and anonymity of the offending driver, and the sense of time pressure as well as the gender of the participants. The results confirmed that the situational characteristics of a potentially frustrating road event can influence both the anger reported by participating drivers and their likely behavioural response

How Effective is Deterrence Theory in Explaining Driver Behaviour: A Case Study of Unlicensed Driving

This paper reports the results of a study undertaken to examine the predictive utility of deterrence theory in explaining unlicensed driving behaviour. The study was based on a cross-sectional survey of 309 unlicensed driving offenders interviewed at the Brisbane Magistrates Court. The dependent variables in the study were the reported frequency of unlicensed driving and the offenders’ intention to drive unlicensed in the future. The findings provide minimal support for classical deterrence theory. This perspective suggests that drivers will be deterred from driving unlicensed if they perceive a high likelihood of apprehension, and if the resulting penalties are perceived to be sufficiently certain, severe and swift. However, these variables accounted for minimal variance in the two dependent variables. In contrast, more support was found for an expanded model of deterrence that included the construct of punishment avoidance. Over and above this, the prediction of both dependent variables was significantly improved by the inclusion of various psychosocial variables drawn from social learning theory including: exposure to models who drive while unlicensed and hold positive attitudes to the behaviour; personal attitudes to unlicensed driving and alternative behaviours; and the perceived rewards and punishments associated with the behaviour. At a theoretical level, the results support the proposition that deterrence theory can be subsumed within a broader social psychological perspective. At an applied level, the results suggest that there is a need to improve enforcement practices to reduce instances of punishment avoidance, and to better address the psychosocial factors that contribute to illegal driving behaviours like unlicensed driving

The effectiveness of licence restriction for drink drivers: The Australian experience

In many jurisdictions, licence restriction is used as an alternative to full suspension for certain drink driving offenders. However, this may undermine both the specific and general deterrent effect of licence loss, by reducing the perceived certainty and severity of the sanction. To explore this proposition, an analysis was undertaken of the records of almost 22,000 male drivers initially convicted of drink driving during 1988 in Queensland, Australia. At a process level, it was found that licence restriction was relatively common, with 12% of offenders being granted a restricted licence for employment purposes. Contrary to legislative guidelines, these licences were sometimes granted to offenders with a recent history of drink driving. At an outcome level, it was found that the restricted drivers were involved in a similar proportion of alcohol-related crashes, but more non alcohol-related crashes, during the term of the sanction than drivers who had been fully suspended. This is consistent with previous research by the authors indicating that restricted drivers do not commit any more drink driving offences than suspended drivers. Therefore, while full suspension produces greater overall road safety benefits, restricted licences appear no less effective as a specific deterrent to drink driving

The crash involvement of interstate drivers in Queensland

Previous research has suggested that driving interstate is more hazardous than driving in one’s home state. However, the increased risk does not appear to be due to greater risk-taking by these drivers, but due to the greater distances they travel, particularly on rural roads, and associated problems such as fatigue. To further examine this issue, an analysis was undertaken of all reported crashes involving interstate drivers that occurred in Queensland between 1993 and 1998. During this period, interstate drivers represented 5% of all drivers involved in fatal and serious injury crashes in Queensland. The analysis indicated that the crashes involving interstate drivers were no more likely to involve factors such as alcohol, speeding, inattention/negligence or inexperience. Rather, the crash involvement patterns of interstate drivers appear to relate more to the type and location of their driving. For example, in Queensland interstate drivers are over-represented in crashes involving: open road driving; driver fatigue; the overturning and sideswiping of vehicles; and weekend travel. Interstate drivers were also more likely to be considered at fault for the crashes they were involved in, compared with local drivers

The psychological distress of the young driver: a brief report

Objective: To explore the role of psychological distress in the self-reported risky driving of young novice drivers. Design: Cross-sectional online survey of 761 tertiary students aged 17-25 years with an intermediate (Provisional) driving licence who completed Kessler’s Psychological Distress Scale and the Behaviour of Young Novice Drivers Scale. Setting: Queensland, Australia, August-October 2009. Main outcome measures: Psychological distress, risky driving. Results: Regression analyses revealed that psychological distress uniquely explained 8.5% of the variance in young novice’s risky driving, with adolescents experiencing psychological distress also reporting higher levels of risky driving. Psychological distress uniquely explained a significant 6.7% and 9.5% of variance in risky driving for males and females respectively. Conclusions: Medical practitioners treating adolescents who have been injured through risky behaviour need to aware of the potential contribution of psychological distress, whilst mental health professionals working with adolescents experiencing psychological distress need to be aware of this additional source of potential harm. The nature of the causal relationships linking psychological distress and risky driving behaviour are not yet fully understood, indicating a need for further research so that strategies such as screening can be investigated

Social influences on drivers in China

China is one of Asia’s many rapidly-motorising nations and recent increases in private-vehicle ownership have been coupled with an escalation in novice drivers. Several pieces of road safety legislation have been introduced in recent decades in China. While managing the legal aspects of road use is important, social influences on driver behaviour may offer alternative avenues to alter behaviour, particularly in a culture where such factors carry high importance. This paper reports qualitative research with Beijing drivers to investigate social influence factors that have, to date, received little attention in the literature. Findings indicated that family members, friends, and driving instructors appear influential on driver behaviour and that some newly licensed drivers seek additional assistance to facilitate the transition from learning to drive in a controlled environment to driving on the road in complex conditions. Strategies to avoid detection and penalties for inappropriate road use were described, many of which involved the use of a third person. These findings indicate potential barriers to implementing effective traffic enforcement and highlight the importance of understanding culturally-specific social factors relating to driver behaviour

Motorcycle rider safety project: summary report

Motorcycle trauma is a serious issue in Queensland and throughout Australia; the fatality rate per 100 million kilometres travelled for motorcycle riders in Australia is nearly 30 times the rate for drivers of other vehicles (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2002). In 2009, the then Queensland Transport (later the Department of Transport and Main Roads or TMR) appointed CARRS-Q to provide a three-year program of Road Safety Research Services for Motorcycle Rider Safety. Funding for this research originated from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission. This program of research was undertaken to produce knowledge to assist TMR to improve motorcycle safety by further strengthening the licensing and training system to make learner riders safer by developing a pre-learner package (Deliverable 1), and by evaluating the Q-Ride CAP program to ensure that it is maximally effective and contributes to the best possible training for new riders (Deliverable 2), and identifying potential new licensing components that will reduce the incidence of risky riding and improve higher-order cognitive skills in new riders (Deliverable 3)