Motor vehicle occupant crashes among teens: impact of the graduated licensing law in San Diego.

Concepedia

Publication | Closed Access

Citations

References

2001

Year

Alan Smith, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Leslie Upledger Ray, Patricia A. Murrin

PubMed

Public PolicyYouth LawDriver BehaviorRoad Traffic SafetyLicensing LawInjury RatesSafety ScienceTraffic EnforcementLawMotor Vehicle CrashTransport AccidentInjury PreventionPublic HealthDemographySan Diego CountyTraffic InjuryEpidemiologySan Diego

Abstract

To assess the effect of California's graduated driver's license (GDL) law in San Diego County, we compared motor vehicle crash and passenger injury rates involving 16-year-old drivers for 1999 and 2000, the first two years of the law, against 1997, using data from a statewide database of all injury crashes. While the crash rate per 1,000 drivers did not change following GDL, a significant decline in the percentage of 16-year-olds with a driver's license corresponded with large decreases in population-based crash and injury rates.