Written evidence submitted by Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University (RSY0022)
I write, on behalf of the Griffith Criminology Institute, to provide a brief submission to the Transport Select Committee’s Inquiry into road safety for young and novice drivers. My submission will focus on the value of graduated driver licensing (GDL) in reducing crashes for young drivers aged 17 to 25 years.
- Executive Summary - The key points of my submission are:
- GDL systems limit young drivers to less risky driving situations while they gain driving experience.
- Numerous evaluations of GDL systems have demonstrated that they are successful in reducing young driver crashes.
- The GDL system in Queensland (Australia) was enhanced in mid-2007.
- These enhancements reduced novice driver crashes by approximately 14% a year.
- The enhancements meant that learner drivers gained more driving practice on a learner licence.
- The changes to the Queensland system did not result in an increase in unsupervised driving while on a learner licence.
- We need to consider how to effectively ensure compliance with road laws by this group given that young drivers do not appear to be deterred by police enforcement.
- I am near London on 31 October and 1 November 2019 if you, or members of your staff, would like to meet with me.
- I have over 15 years’ experience undertaking research and making recommendations regarding GDL systems. In 2003, I was the Senior Research Officer for the Parliamentary Travelsafe Committee (Legislative Assembly of Queensland) when we conducted the Inquiry into provisional driver and rider licence restrictions and Reducing the road toll for young Queenslanders – is education enough? These inquiries, combined, resulted in 33 recommendations to the Queensland Government and the subsequent introduction of an enhanced GDL system within Queensland in mid-2007. Additionally, my PhD examined the driver licensing experiences of young drivers and their parents in two Australian states (Queensland and New South Wales). I have conducted research in, and provided advice to, a range of jurisdictions, both within Australia and internationally, regarding young driver issues. I am currently employed on a research fellowship funded by the Australian Research Council examining how authorities can encourage more effective compliance with GDL requirements by young drivers.
- GDL systems aim to reduce the number of novice driver crashes by reducing the exposure of this group to high risk situations while still allowing them to gain experience on the road. Generally speaking, GDL systems have three stages: learner, provisional (also known as probationary or intermediate) and open (Bates, Filtness, & Watson, 2018). GDL systems are used in jurisdictions including New Zealand, Australia, the United States of America and Canada. There are local differences in each place. Evaluations of GDL systems have demonstrated that they are successful in reducing crashes for young drivers by approximately 20 to 40% with the exact reductions differing depending on the elements contained within the system and the research methodology used (Shope, 2007).
- The Queensland GDL system was enhanced in the middle of 2007 (see Attachment 1). The enhancement involved introducing a number of new elements including lengthening the learner period (while also reducing the age at which a learner licence could be obtained), the requirement to complete 100 hours of supervised practice while on a learner licence, restrictions on passengers using mobile phones with novice drivers and the introduction of a two-tier provisional licence. Research comparing the experiences of novice drivers (aged 17 to 19 years) during the two different learner periods (pre and post 2007) identified that; they spent an average of 4 months longer on the learner period than previously; they completed more driving practice and; they completed more practice with parents and friends as a supervisor. There was no difference in; the amount of unsupervised driving undertaken while on a learner licence; the amount of hours undertaken with a professional driving instructor or; reported difficulty in obtaining supervised practice (Scott-Parker, Bates, Watson, King, & Hyde, 2011).
- Subsequent research has considered the impact of these licensing changes on crashes and identified that it was successful in reducing young driver crashes within Queensland. There was a reduction in novice crash casualties of 13.9% per year and a reduction relative to the overall licensed driver population of 2.9% per year. Additionally, there were declines in novice single-vehicle crashes, novice night crashes, novice passenger crashes and novice alcohol related crashes (Senserrick, Boufous, Olivier, & Hatfield, 2018).
- An emerging area within GDL policy is the need to encourage young drivers to adhere to road laws. Research using administrative data from California, USA indicates that over half of young drivers (under 20 years) have a recorded traffic infringement within three years of obtaining their licence (Chapman, Masten, & Browning, 2014). Studies within Queensland, that have used a convenience sample of young drivers, found that they were not deterred from committing driving offences by police enforcement (Allen, Murphy, & Bates, 2015; Bates, Darvell, & Watson, 2017). In fact, young drivers were more concerned that their parents would know they had offended on the roads. This indicates the need for more innovative enforcement approaches to increase compliance rates.
- This is the topic of the program of research within my research fellowship. The preliminary (not yet published) results of the first study indicate that when young drivers avoid punishment after they have engaged in breaking a road rule, they are more likely to break road rules in the future. Avoiding punishment on the roads is a relatively common event. It appears that young drivers can avoid punishment in three ways; (a) actively avoiding punishment by engaging in deliberate actions to circumvent policing activities such as driving on roads where they believe police are unlikely to be (b) experiencing either direct or vicarious punishment avoidance ‘by talking their way out of a ticket’ when caught by police or hearing about how their friends have done so and (c) having their parents facilitate full or partial punishment avoidance by, for instance, having them pay the traffic fine on their child’s behalf.
[…]
August 2019
Attachment 1: Queensland’s Graduated Driver Licensing System, pre and post July 2007
Pre-July 2007 | Post-July 2007 |
Learner |
Learner theory test | Learner theory test |
Minimum age 16.5 years | Minimum age 16 years |
Hold for a minimum of 6 months | Hold for a minimum of 12 months |
Zero blood alcohol limit (if under 25 years) | Zero blood alcohol limit (if under 25 years) |
Must be supervised | Must be supervised |
Must display L plates | Must display L plates |
Can accumulate 3 demerit points | Can accumulate 3 demerit points |
Must carry licence | Must carry licence |
Voluntary log book | Required to record 100 hours supervised practice in a log book (1 hour with a professional driving instructor counts for 3 log book hours up to 10 professional instruction hours) |
| Must not use a mobile phone |
| Passenger(s) must not use mobile phone on loudspeaker function |
Practical driving assessment | Practical driving assessment |
Provisional | Provisional Licence 1 |
Minimum age 17 years | Minimum age 17 years |
Must be held 3 years if under 23 years, 2 years if 23 years, 1 year if 24 years or older | Must be held minimum one year |
Can accumulate three demerit points | Can incur three demerit points |
Zero blood alcohol limit (if under 25 years) | Zero blood alcohol limit (if under 25 years) |
Limited to driving an automatic vehicle if test in an automatic vehicle | Limited to driving an automatic vehicle if tested in an automatic vehicle |
| Only one passenger between 11pm and 5am (excluding immediate family) if under 21 years |
| Must display P1 plates (red P plates) |
| Must not use mobile phone |
| Passenger(s) must not use mobile phone on loudspeaker function |
| High-powered vehicle restriction |
Receive open licence | Hazard perception test |
| Provisional Licence 2 |
| Minimum age 17 years |
| Must be held 2 years if under 23 years, 1 year if 23 years or older |
| Can incur three demerit points |
| Zero blood alcohol limit (if under 25 years) |
| Only one passenger between 11pm and 5am (excluding immediate family) if under 21 years |
| Must display P2 plates (green) |
| Must not use mobile phone |
| Passenger(s) must not use mobile phone on loudspeaker function |
| Receive open licence |
References
Allen, S., Murphy, K., & Bates, L. (2015). What drives compliance? The effect of deterrence and shame emotions on young drivers’ compliance with road laws. Policing and Society. doi:10.1080/10439463.2015.1115502
Bates, L., Darvell, M., & Watson, B. (2017). Young and unaffected by road policing strategies: Using deterrence theory to explain provisional drivers’ (non)compliance. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 50(1), 23-38. doi:10.1177/0004865815589824
Bates, L., Filtness, A., & Watson, B. (2018). Driver Education and Licensing Programs. In D. Lord & S. Washington (Eds.), Safe Mobility: Background, Challenges and Solutions. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.
Chapman, E. A., Masten, S. V., & Browning, K. (2014). Crash and traffic violation rates before and after licensure for novice California drivers subject to different driver licensing requirements. Journal of Safety Research, 50, 125–138. doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2014.05.005
Scott-Parker, B., Bates, L., Watson, B., King, M., & Hyde, M. (2011). The impact of changes to the graduated driver licensing program in Queensland, Australia on the experiences of learner drivers. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43, 1301-1308.
Senserrick, T. M., Boufous, S., Olivier, J., & Hatfield, J. (2018). Associations between graduated driver licensing and road trauma reductions in a later licensing age jurisdiction: Queensland, Australia. PLoS ONE, 13(9), e0204107. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0204107
Shope, J. T. (2007). Graduated driver licensing: Review of evaluation results since 2002. Journal of Safety Research, 38(2), 165-175.