Driving offences and risk of subsequent crash in novice drivers: the DRIVE Study

This paper describes how little research has examined the association between traffic offenses and the risk of crash in novice drivers. The paper describes how 20,822 drivers aged 17–24 years that were holding a provisional license completed a detailed questionnaire; and the data were linked to driving offenses and police recorded crashes 2 years following participation. Poisson regression models were adjusted for multiple risk factors including driving exposure, risky driving, and previous crash and offenses. During follow-up, 9.0% of drivers had one crash, 0.6% had two crashes and 0.04% had three crashes; 35.3% of males had offenses recorded as compared to 21.3% of females and 41.1% of those reporting high levels of risky driving behaviors had offenses compared to 16.3% of people reporting lower levels. In multivariable models, drivers who had any offense had a reduced risk of crash compared to those who had no offenses relative risk (RR). The relationship was sustained for speeding and other offenses, but not for reckless driving or alcohol related offenses. Having any driving offense was associated with increased time to crash. Traffic offenses, particularly speeding related offenses, are associated with reduced risk of crash for novice drivers. These results suggest that enforcement based approaches are an important component of crash prevention programs for novice drivers.