Problem Drivers and Highway Safety

Young drivers in particular are a major problem on the highways, and there are effective, feasible ways to reduce their crash involvement. The solutions are known but, unfortunately, they aren't widely applied. There's tremendous variation among the states in terms of laws and regulations covering young, beginning drivers. Most such laws and regulations don't do a very good job of guiding these high-risk drivers toward full driving privileges while maintaining their safety and the safety of those they encounter on the road. In fact, the United States lags far behind other countries where licensing systems have been implemented to address the problem of young drivers in ways that are rational, humane, and effective.

In addition to young drivers, the High Risk Drivers Act addresses two other groups of drivers: elderly and "problem" drivers (that is, drivers with repeated traffic violations and crashes). The Institute supports actions to enhance identification of the latter group and to promote prompt intervention because problem drivers are several times as likely as other drivers to crash, and barring them from driving through license suspension or revocation is effective in eliminating some crashes. At the same time, it should be noted that problem drivers account for such a small segment of the motor vehicle crash problem that preventing them from driving can have little direct effect on overall crash totals. Most drivers with violations and crashes on their records don't have recorded crashes during prior or subsequent periods. This is true for teenagers as well as older drivers. One study shows, for example, that only 18 percent of drivers younger than 18 years old in fatal crashes had any convictions for moving violations prior to the fatal crash. Only 10 percent had been involved in a prior reported crash.^

Like young drivers, elderly drivers are overinvolved in crashes per mile driven, compared with drivers of other ages. Although the contribution of elderly drivers to the crash problem is much less than that of the youngest drivers, the population of elderly drivers is growing rapidly. The Institute supports establishment of a research program focusing on older drivers. At the same time, we at the Institute urge that scientific research be concentrated on determining what's effective in reducing older drivers' crash rates and on determining how to strike an appropriate balance between older drivers' safety and mobility needs.

For the elderly, it isn't clear what safety measures exist or can be developed that are both effective and feasible, whereas for younger drivers we know what works to reduce the problem of motor vehicle crashes. The challenge is getting effective measures applied in the United States. Because of the magnitude of the young driver problem, the remainder of the Institute's comments will be directed to that group.

Sammy Beanard has researched and written about many driving related issues. To see more of his writing, visit his article about License Plate Lookup.