Encouraging compliance with graduated driver licensing restrictions

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Abstract

Problem

Although graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs have reduced the high crash rates for 16-and 17-year-old drivers, research suggests that some teenagers fail to comply with restrictions on nighttime driving and carrying passengers.

Method

A program to encourage compliance with GDL restrictions and seat belt requirements was implemented in Guilford County, North Carolina. The program combined increased enforcement with a multi-faceted publicity campaign drawing attention to the enforcement activity. A comparison community was studied to assess whether changes over time could be reasonably attributed to the program.

Results

Several measures indicate that greater enforcement did occur in the intervention community and that teenagers perceived the increase. However, self-reported data and direct observations of young drivers in the intervention and comparison communities showed the program resulted in only modest changes in compliance with GDL restrictions.

Discussion

The program put in place the mechanisms known to produce changes in driver behavior, but these may have been insufficient to alter the behavior of the minority of teenagers (and parents) who were not already complying with restrictions. However, the modest changes in young driver behavior plus the clear changes in both actual and perceived enforcement suggest that high visibility enforcement programs merit further use and evaluation in other communities, particularly those where compliance with GDL provisions is lower than in Guilford County.

Introduction

Graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems are designed to reduce crash risk while novice drivers gain needed experience. The keystone of graduated licensing is the intermediate level license, which allows a novice to drive without an adult in the vehicle while restricting driving to less risky conditions. Although research clearly points to the effectiveness of GDL systems in reducing the crash rates for beginning drivers (Hedlund and Compton, 2004, Shope and Molnar, 2003), several recent studies suggest that teenagers often do not comply with the two central protective restrictions: limits on nighttime driving and the number of young passengers permitted. Studies conducted in New Zealand, Nova Scotia, and California have found that as many as 50% of young drivers report violating nighttime restrictions and up to 80% acknowledge at least occasionally violating passenger restrictions (Begg et al., 1995, Mayhew et al., 1998, Williams et al., 2002). To the extent that teenagers do not comply with these restrictions, the safety benefits of GDL systems are reduced.

North Carolina has seen a substantial reduction in crashes among young drivers since GDL was introduced in 1997. An analysis of 10 years of crash data, which includes more than 5 years post-GDL, shows that crash rates have declined by 34% for 16-year-old drivers and by 18% for 17-year-old drivers following GDL (Foss, Masten, & Goodwin, 2005). Although compliance with restrictions appears to be higher in North Carolina than in other jurisdictions such as California (Williams et al., 2002), a recent study found that 23% of teenagers in North Carolina reported violating the nighttime restriction (either with or without their parents' knowledge) and 34% reported violating the passenger restriction (Goodwin & Foss, 2004). Moreover, police enforcement of restrictions appeared limited; discussions with law enforcement officers revealed that many officers were not familiar with the details of North Carolina's GDL system and enforcement of restrictions did not seem to be a high priority. Without enforcement, teenagers may begin to believe that GDL restrictions are not taken seriously and compliance can be expected to decline further.

North Carolina is also one of the few states in the United States that has a seat belt provision as part of its GDL system. All occupants in a vehicle driven by a GDL driver must be properly restrained or the driver can be cited. Compliance with seat belt laws is a particular concern with respect to young drivers; research consistently shows that seat belt use is somewhat lower among young drivers than adult drivers. For example, observations of seat belt use at 12 high schools in the northeastern United States found that 56% of teenage drivers used seat belts when arriving at evening football games compared with 74% of adult drivers (Williams, McCartt, & Geary, 2003). Because teenage drivers have a substantially higher crash risk than adult drivers, failure to use seat belts makes them (and their passengers) especially vulnerable to injury or death. Increasing seat belt use among teenage drivers, as well as increasing compliance with other provisions of GDL such as nighttime and passenger restrictions, is important for ensuring the safety of young drivers, their passengers, and other road users.

Highly visible law enforcement is one approach for encouraging young drivers to adhere to the constraints placed on their licenses. Enforcement campaigns that include substantial publicity have been successfully employed to increase seat belt use (Williams et al., 1996, Williams and Wells, 2004) and reduce alcohol-impaired driving (Lacey et al., 1999, Wells et al., 1992). The present study examined the effect on young driver behavior of an enforcement program to encourage compliance with GDL restrictions and seat belt provisions.

Section snippets

North Carolina GDL System

North Carolina's three-tiered GDL system was implemented on December 1, 1997. The second, “intermediate” license stage begins after 12 months of supervised driving and no earlier than age 16. License holders in the intermediate stage may not drive without supervision from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. (except when driving to or from work). No more than one passenger younger than 21 is allowed unless a supervising driver is in the vehicle. There is an exception for passengers who are members of the

Law enforcement activity

During the program, officers in the intervention community issued a total of 86 citations to GDL license holders during checkpoints and saturation patrols. Twenty-one citations were issued for violations of the passenger restriction, 7 for violations of the nighttime restriction, and 28 for seat belt violations. The remaining 30 citations were issued for speeding, driving without a license, and other traffic and criminal violations.

Observations of young drivers

In total, 5,694 young drivers were observed during the course

Discussion

The results of the program were modest but encouraging for future efforts to enhance the effects of GDL. Greater enforcement did indeed occur. During a 4-month period, 25 checkpoints and 7 nighttime saturation patrols were conducted in the intervention community, resulting in 86 citations issued to GDL license holders. The percentage of teenagers who reported having been stopped (at a police checkpoint or at some other time) increased, and more teenagers reported receiving a ticket when stopped

Acknowledgements

The cooperation of law enforcement agencies in Guilford County, the Guilford County School System and the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also thank Jamie Sohn for her assistance with data collection. This work was supported by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Insurance Institute for Highway

Arthur Goodwin is a Senior Research Associate with the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center; he holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. His research interests include college student drinking, drinking and driving, seat belt use by young drivers, and graduated driver license programs.

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Arthur Goodwin is a Senior Research Associate with the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center; he holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. His research interests include college student drinking, drinking and driving, seat belt use by young drivers, and graduated driver license programs.

JoAnn K. Wells is Senior Research Analyst with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington, VA.; she holds a B.S. from Emmanuel College. Ms. Wells has published many articles concerning various aspects of seat belt and child restraint use, including seat belt use by teenagers and use of automatic seat belts. Her research interests also include innovative methods and programs to reduce alcohol-impaired driving.

Robert Foss is a Senior Research Scientist with the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center; he holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. He has taught previously at University of Vermont, West Virginia University, Western Carolina University and the University of Nevada, Reno. His research interests include injury prevention, young driver behavior, alcohol involvement in injury, and development/implementation of community interventions to increase bicycle helmet use.

Allan F. Williams is former Chief Scientist with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington, VA; he holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Harvard University. Dr. Williams has published more than 300 scientific papers in a wide variety of research areas including alcohol, drugs, and driving; seat belt use; and preventing motor vehicle deaths and injuries among teenagers and children.

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