Characteristics of fatal road crashes involving unlicensed drivers or riders: Implications for countermeasures

Unhelmeted Riding, Drunk Riding, and Unlicensed Riding among Motorcyclists: A Population Study in Taiwan during 2011-2016

This study aimed to investigate the association between drunk riding, unhelmeted riding, unlicensed riding, and running-off-road (ROR) crashes. Multiple logistic regression was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) by using the National Taiwan Traffic Crash Dataset for 2011-2016. The results revealed that unhelmeted riding was associated with 138% (AOR = 2.38; CI (confidence interval) = 2.34-2.42) and 47% (AOR = 1.47; CI = 1.45-1.49) higher risks of drunk riding and unlicensed riding, respectively. The risk of unhelmeted riding increased with blood alcohol concentrations (BACs), and riders with the minimum BAC (0.031-0.05%) had nearly five times (AOR = 4.99; CI = 4.74-5.26) higher odds of unlicensed riding compared with those of riders with a negative BAC. Unhelmeted riding, drunk riding, and unlicensed riding were associated with 1.21 times (AOR = 1.21; CI = 1.13-1.30), 2.38 times (AOR = 2.38; CI = 2.20-2.57), and 1.13 times (AOR = 1.13; CI = 1.06-1.21) higher odds of ROR crashes, respectively. The three risky riding behaviours (i.e., unhelmeted riding, drunk riding, and unlicensed riding) were significantly related to ROR crashes. The risk of unhelmeted riding and ROR crashes increased with BACs.

Unlicensed driving among young drivers in North Carolina: a quasi-induced exposure analysis

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the prevalence of driving among teenagers who have not yet obtained a license. The primary objective of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of unlicensed driving among young drivers using the quasi-induced exposure (QIE) approach and to determine whether unlicensed driving was more common among minority and lower-income teenagers. Additionally, we examined whether unlicensed driving among adolescents increased following the implementation of a graduated driver licensing (GDL) system and whether GDL differentially affected minority and low-income adolescents.

METHODS

Using North Carolina crash and driver license data, we identified 90,267 two-vehicle crashes from 1991 through 2016 where only one driver was considered contributory and the non-contributory driver was a White or Black 16 or 17 years old. In the QIE approach, these non-contributory young drivers are assumed to be representative of all adolescents driving in the state during this time period. The prevalence of unlicensed driving among adolescents by age and year was estimated by identifying the proportion of non-contributory drivers who had never been licensed by the time of their involvement in these two-vehicle crashes. We further conducted logistic regression analyses to examine the likelihood of a non-contributory young driver being unlicensed as a function of race, neighborhood income level, and licensing era (prior to or after GDL was implemented).

RESULTS

During the 26 years for which data were available, the mean annual prevalence of unlicensed driving was 1.2% for 16-year-olds and 1.7% among 17-year-olds. Young Black drivers and individuals living in lower-income neighborhoods were somewhat more likely to drive before obtaining a license, but the rates of unlicensed driving among these groups were also quite low. Unlicensed driving increased slightly for 17-year-olds following the implementation of GDL, but returned to previous levels after a few years.

CONCLUSION

Unlicensed driving among adolescents in North Carolina is substantially less common than suggested by previous self-report studies and analyses of fatal crash data.

Analysis of Driver’s Socioeconomic Characteristics Relating to Speeding Behavior and Crash Involvement: A Case Study in Lahore

Speeding is one of the risky behaviors which results in accident involvement causing fatalities and severe injuries. This paper aimed to identify the significant socio-economic characteristics of drivers concerning their speeding behavior and crash involvement. A questionnaire was designed consisting of driver’s demographic features, involvement in an accident, penalty on speed violations, and statements on speeding behavior in terms of exceeding the speed limits by 10 km/h or more on roads with different speed limits of 60, 80, 100, and 120 km/h per standard operating speeds on various road types in Pakistan. This survey was conducted in Lahore city and a total of 551 usable samples were obtained. A latent variable of drivers’ speeding behavior was introduced; factor loadings were estimated, and an observed variable of drivers’ crash experience was defined as the drivers’ crash involvement. Ordered regression analysis using the probit function was conducted on speeding behavior and crash involvement. The ordinal analysis revealed that the drivers’ age, gender, marital status, employment, vehicle engine size, type of vehicle they drive, and driving frequency per day are good predictors of speeding behavior. Similarly, male drivers’ age, vehicle engine size, and type of vehicle they drive were significant predictors of their likelihood to be involved in an accident. The young, single, and male drivers and drivers of cars with an engine capacity above 1.5 L were more likely to speed and be involved in crashes. These findings provide a clear understanding of a specific group of drivers who have a higher probability of speeding and crash involvement. There is a need to focus on specific demographic factors in the formulation of traffic safety policies and managing speedy drivers’ behaviors.

Crash involvement among unlicensed 17 year old drivers before and after licensing at 17 was allowed

Unlicensed driving among youth is associated with increased crash risk, and partly motivated by a wish to learn to drive. In this paper we examine whether crash involvement among 17-year-old unlicensed drivers changed after post-licence accompanied driving from the age of 17 was allowed in Denmark in 2017. The study includes police-registered crashes occurring three years before and three years after the change (2014-2019). Results show an increase in crash involvement among 17-year-olds and a small increase in crash involvement among unlicensed 17-year-olds, if population size is taken into account, but no differences in the crash and person characteristics before and after the change. Being male, speeding, and impairment at the time of the crash predicted unlicensed crash involvement. A latent class clustering analysis (LCCA) identified seven clusters of crashes involving an unlicensed 17-year-old. The cluster characteristics reveal different patterns in the associated factors such as females and parked vehicles being more likely to be included in C1, alcohol impaired in C2 and drug impaired in C7. Brief crash descriptions provided by the police indicate that driving with extra motives such as showing-off or pleasure are prevalent in all clusters. Results confirm, that unlicensed crash involvement among 17-year olds is associated with risk-taking behaviours such as speeding, impaired driving, showing-off, and the car being pursued by the police. However, unfortunate manoeuvres and loss of control of the vehicle possibly related to poor driving skills are also associated with the crashes. Crash characteristics such as impairment by alcohol and drugs indicate that unlicensed crash involvement is a distinct safety challenge associated with health risk behaviours rather than a transport related need for a driver's license. Additional studies exploring the motivations and circumstances associated with unlicensed driving among 17-year olds are needed along with measures to prevent car access among unlicensed youth..

Is driving without a valid license associated with an increased risk of causing a road crash?

The aim of this study was to estimate the association between each cause of driving without a valid license (DWVL) and the risk of causing a road crash, considering driver, vehicle and environmental factors. A case-control study based on data from the Spanish Register of Road Accidents with Victims was carried out between 2014 and 2017. Cases included 28,620 drivers of moving private cars, vans and off-road vehicles involved in single crashes plus 50,100 drivers deemed responsible for clean collisions (i.e. those in which only one driver was labeled as responsible). In accordance with the quasi-induce exposure approach, drivers not responsible for clean collisions comprised the control group (N = 51,656). Logistic and multinomial regression models were used to estimate crude and adjusted Odds Ratios or Relative Risk Ratios between each reason for DWVL and the risk of being a case of all, single and multi-vehicle collisions. A significant association was found between all reasons for DWVL and the risk of causing a road crash. This association was particularly high for drivers with a suspended license and drivers who had never obtained a license. In these subgroups of drivers, the proportion of the relationship explained by high-risk driving behaviors is high. Our results support the need for applying continued strategies to identify and control these subgroups of drivers.

An Investigation into Unsafe Behaviors and Traffic Accidents Involving Unlicensed Drivers: A Perspective for Alignment Measurement

Road traffic plays a vital role in countries’ economic growth and future development. However, traffic accidents are considered a major public health issue affecting humankind. Despite efforts by governments to improve traffic safety, the misalignment between the policy efforts and on-ground infringements, distractions and breaches reflect the regulatory failure. This paper uses the Bayesian network method to investigate unsafe behaviors and traffic accidents involving unlicensed drivers as a perspective for the regulatory alignment assessment. The findings suggest that: (1) unlicensed drivers are more likely to have unsafe driving behaviors; (2) the probability of being involved in a severe traffic accident increases when the drivers are unlicensed and decreases in the case of licensed drivers; (3) young drivers are noticeably more likely to engage in unsafe behaviors, usually leading to serious injuries and deaths, when their driving licenses are invalid; (4) women are more likely to engage in right-of-way violations and to have collisions with no serious injuries, contrary to unlicensed men drivers, who are involved in other types of traffic accidents resulting in serious injuries.

Role of Passengers in Single-Vehicle Drunk-Driving Crashes: An Injury-Severity Analysis

Background: Drunk-driving is a major crash risk factor, and crashes resulting from this risky behavior tend to be serious and have significant economic and societal impacts. The presence of passengers and their demographics and activities can influence risky driving behaviors such as drunk-driving. However, passengers could either be an “enabling” factor to take more risks or could be an “inhibiting” factor by ensuring safe driving by a drunk-driver. Objective: This study examines whether the presence of passengers affects the contributing factors of single-vehicle (SV) drunk-driving crashes, by presenting a severity analysis of single- and multi-occupant SV drunk-driving crashes, to identify risk factors that contribute to crash severity outcomes, for the effective implementation of relevant countermeasures. Method: A total of 7407 observations for 2012–2016 from the crash database of the State of Alabama was used for this study. The variables were divided into six classes: temporal, locational, driver, vehicle, roadway, and crash characteristics and injury severities into three: severe, minor, and no injury. Two latent class multinomial logit models—one each for single- and multi-occupant crashes—were developed, to analyze the effects of significant factors on injury severity outcomes using marginal effects. Results: The estimated results show that collision with a ditch, run-off road, intersection, winter season, wet roadway, and interstate decreased the probability of severe injuries in both single- and multi-occupant crashes, whereas rural area, road with downward grade, dark and unlit roadway, unemployed driver, and driver with invalid license increased the likelihood of severe injuries for both single- and multi-occupant crashes. Female drivers were more likely to be severely injured in single-occupant crashes, but less likely in multi-occupant crashes. A significant association was found between severe injuries and weekends, residential areas, and crash location close (<25 mi ≈40.23 km) to the residence of the at-fault driver in multi-occupant crashes. Sport utility vehicles were found to be safer when driving with passengers. Conclusions: The model findings show that, although many correlates are consistent between the single- and multi-occupant SV crashes that are associated with locational, roadway, vehicle, temporal, and driver characteristics, their effect can vary across the single- and multi-occupant driving population. The findings from this study can help in targeting interventions, developing countermeasures, and educating passengers to reduce drunk-driving crashes and consequent injuries. Such integrated efforts combined with engineering and emergency response may contribute in developing a true safe systems approach.

Speeding and impaired driving in fatal crashes-Results from in-depth investigations

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to identify typical patterns of risk factors among speeding and impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes and to suggest countermeasures.

METHOD

Results from in-depth investigations of 1,501 fatal passenger car crashes that occurred in Norway from 2005 to 2015 and involved 1,949 passenger cars are summarized. Relationships between speeding (excessive speed, EXC, or inappropriate speed, INAP); driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol (ALC), drugs (DRUG), or both (MIX); and other driver-, crash-, vehicle-, and road-related variables were investigated.

RESULTS

Speeding and DUI drivers have in common that they are more often male, unbelted, unlicensed, driving old cars, and involved in single-vehicle crashes under low-volume conditions (nighttime, weekend, low-volume roads). They are also less often fatigued, ill, or suicidal. EXC and ALC drivers are on average younger and they generally show more high-risk behavior than INAP, DRUG, and MIX drivers. In crashes with pedestrians/cyclists and crashes on slippery roads or in winter, INAP drivers are overrepresented and EXC and DUI drivers are underrepresented. Among DRUG and MIX drivers there may be differences according to the type of substance.

CONCLUSIONS

Those drivers who show most types of high-risk behaviors, especially EXC and ALC drivers, are less likely to respond to measures relying on voluntary behavior changes, such as recommended speed, speed warnings, or classical enforcement, although such measures may be effective for INAP and some DRUG drivers. To change the behavior of EXC and ALC drivers, more restrictive measures are called for, such as non-overridable intelligent speed adaptation, vehicle impoundment, or Alcolock.

Driver-related risk factors of fatal road traffic crashes associated with alcohol or drug impairment

Fatal road traffic crashes are often related to speeding, non-use of a seatbelt, and alcohol/drug-impaired driving. The aim of this study was to examine associations between driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and driver-related risk factors that have been reported as significantly contributing causes of fatal road traffic crashes. The data were extracted from Norwegian road traffic crash registries and forensic toxicology databases. Drug/alcohol investigated car and van drivers and motorcycle riders fatally injured in road traffic crashes in Norway during 2005-2015 were included in this study (n = 772). Drug and alcohol concentrations corresponding to 0.5 g/kg alcohol in blood were used as the lower limits for categorising drivers/riders as impaired; 0.2 g/kg was the upper limit for being categorised as sober. Associations between driver-related risk factors and impairment from specific substance groups were calculated using multivariable logistic regression, adjusted for other substance groups, age, and sex, and were reported when the confidence intervals did not contain the value 1 or lower. Substances found in concentrations above the impairment limits were mainly alcohol (20%), medicinal drugs (10%: benzodiazepines, opioids, z-hypnotics), stimulants (5%: amphetamines, methylphenidate, and cocaine), and cannabis (4%: THC). The drug/alcohol-impaired drivers had compared to the sober drivers more often been speeding (68% versus 32%), not used a seatbelt (69% versus 30%), and been driving without a valid driver license (26% versus 1%). Logistic regression analysis showed that impairment from alcohol or stimulants (mainly amphetamines) was associated with all three risk factors, medicinal drugs with all except speeding, and impairment from cannabis (THC) with not having a valid driver license. Among motorcycle riders, drug/alcohol impairment was associated with not having a valid driver license and non-use of a helmet. At least one of the risk factors speeding, non-use of a seatbelt/helmet, and driving without a valid license were present among the vast majority of the drug/alcohol-impaired fatally injured drivers and riders, and also among more than half of the fatally injured sober drivers.