Research report No. 17

Chapter 1. Introduction (PDF 66 KB)

This is the second report from the collaborative partnership between the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the Transport Accident Commission of Victoria and the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria. The collaboration began in 2002 when the Institute was commissioned to collect and analyse data on the driving experiences and practices of young Victorians, using data from the Australian Temperament Project (ATP) research study. The first report, In the Driver's Seat: Understanding Young Adults' Driving Behaviour, was prepared by Smart and Vassallo in 2005.

The Australian Temperament Project is a longitudinal study which has followed the development of a cohort of Victorian children from infancy to young adulthood, with the aim of tracing pathways to psychosocial adjustment and maladjustment across the lifespan (Prior, Sanson, Smart, & Oberklaid, 2000). The initial sample comprised 2,443, 4-8 month old infants and their parents, who were representative of the Victorian population when recruited in 1983. Fourteen waves of data have been collected thus far, using mail surveys, with the young people aged 23-24 years at the last collection in 2006. Parents, teachers and the young people themselves have responded to the study at various stages of the young people's development.

1.1 Major findings from the first report

The first report from the collaborative partnership (Smart & Vassallo, 2005) examined three broad issues:

• the learner driver experiences and driving behaviours of 19-20 year olds:
• precursors and correlates of three problematic driving outcomes (risky driving, crash involvement and speeding offences): and
• connections between risky driving at 19-20 years and other problem behaviours (substance use and antisocial behaviour).

Learner driver experiences and driving behaviours

Eighty-six per cent of the young people had obtained a probationary car driver's licence by 19-20 years of age. While there was considerable diversity in the number of professional driving lessons young people had undertaken, most commonly this was between one and five and seldom more than ten. About 80% had practised driving on at least a weekly basis when learning to drive; typically with their parents. While some stress or conflict was common during practice sessions with parents, this was generally minor.

In terms of young people's more recent driving patterns, there was considerable variability in the number of hours that young people spent driving at different times of the day and week. However, on average, young people spent a total of 5 hours on weekdays and 3 hours on weekends driving during daylight hours. Night-time driving was less frequent, occurring, on average, for 2½ hours during the week, and 2 hours on weekends.

Forty-three per cent of young drivers had been involved in a crash since gaining their licence, while approximately 30% had been detected speeding by police at least once.

Speeding was the most common unsafe driving behaviour reported by this 19-20 year old cohort. Driving when fatigued was also relatively common. Other unsafe driving behaviours, such as failing to wear a seatbelt and driving when affected by alcohol or illegal drugs were less prevalent. Young men engaged in unsafe driving behaviours more often than young women (particularly speeding, driving when affected by alcohol, and non-seatbelt use), and were also more likely to have been detected speeding by police.

Precursors and correlates of risky driving, crash involvement and speeding

The precursors and correlates of three problematic driving outcomes - risky driving, crash involvement and speeding - were investigated. Groups exhibiting low, moderate and high levels of each outcome were identified. The precursors and correlates of each outcome type were then investigated by comparing the resultant groups on a wide range of characteristics assessed at 19-20 years or earlier in life.

Young adults in the groups exhibiting high-level risky driving, multiple crashes and/or multiple speeding violations differed from other drivers on a wide range of domains. They tended to be more aggressive; engage more frequently in antisocial acts (for example, property offences or violence); have a less persistent temperament style (have difficulty in seeing tasks through to completion); use more legal and illegal substances; and have friendships with peers who tended to be involved in antisocial activities. In addition, young people in the high-level risky driving and/or multiple speeding violations groups tended to be more hyperactive, less cooperative, and had experienced more school adjustment difficulties than other drivers.

Common precursors shared by the high-level risky driving and multiple crashes groups were a more difficult parent-child relationship and a tendency to use less adaptive coping strategies. There were also some personal attributes and environmental characteristics that were uniquely associated with each driving outcome.

Group differences tended to be more powerful, more consistent and emerge earlier (in mid- to late childhood) among the risky driving and speeding violation groups than among the crash involvement groups (which emerged in mid- to late adolescence).

Relationship between risky driving and other problem behaviours

The degree of overlap of different types of problem behaviours was explored in two ways. Firstly, in order to identify common and unique risk factors, the longitudinal precursors of risky driving in early adulthood, adolescent antisocial behaviour, and adolescent multi-substance use were compared. Some overlap was evident, with aspects of temperament style, behaviour problems, school adjustment and interpersonal relationships predicting all three types of problem behaviour. Secondly, levels of antisocial behaviour and substance use among 19-20 year old low-, moderate- and high-level risky drivers were examined. High-level risky drivers engaged more often in antisocial behaviour and used alcohol, marijuana or both substances more frequently than less risky drivers. Furthermore, looking back in time, high-level risky drivers had displayed higher levels of antisocial behaviour and substance use during adolescence.

1.2 The second report

Considerable attention has been devoted to understanding the driving behaviours and characteristics of young, novice drivers. This focus is understandable, given the evidence that novice drivers are approximately three to four times at greater risk of being involved in a crash resulting in injury or death than older drivers (Cavallo & Triggs, 1996; Clarke, Ward, & Truman, 2002)

However, much less attention has been given to the on-the-road behaviours of young drivers past the early years of their driving careers to see how their driving patterns and behaviours change as they mature and gain driving experience.

The collection of a second wave of road safety data among the ATP cohort at 23-24 years, provided a valuable opportunity to examine the driving practices and experiences of this cohort of young Victorians at a later stage of their driving careers. Thus, the collaborative partnership between the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria and the Transport Accident Commission of Victoria was extended, enabling an exploration of issues such as the stability or change in young people's approach to driving from the pre- to mid-20s, as well as a more detailed focus on specific road safety issues that are of particular concern at this life stage (such as drink-driving).

This second report focuses on six broad issues that can further increase understanding of the driving behaviour of young Victorians. These are:

• the driving behaviours and experiences of young people in their mid-20s;
• the consistency of driving behaviour over time (between the ages of 19-20 to 23-24 years);
• links between drink-driving and other forms of risky driving, and between risky driving and alcohol or other substance use;
• connections between crash involvement, high-level speeding, fatigued driving and other aspects of road safety;
• the influence of families on young people's car purchases; and
• links between 23-24 year olds' personal characteristics and their driving behaviours.