title: Mobility and safety are conflicting goals for transport policy makers when making decisions about graduated driver licensing
creator: Bates, L.
creator: Watson, B.
creator: King, M.
subject: 150703 Road Transportation and Freight Services
subject: 111799 Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified
subject: 139999 Education not elsewhere classified
subject: 160500 POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION
subject: Graduated Driver Licensing
subject: Teenage Drivers
subject: Learner Licence
subject: Hours of Practice
subject: Road Safety
description: Policy decisions are frequently influenced by more than research results alone. This review examines one road safety countermeasure, graduated driver licensing, in three jurisdictions and identifies how the conflict between mobility and safety goals can influence policy decisions relating to this countermeasure. Evaluations from around the world of graduated driver licensing have demonstrated clear reductions in crashes for young drivers. However, the introduction of this countermeasure may be affected, both positively and negatively, by the conflict some policy makers experience between ensuring individuals remain both mobile and safe as drivers. This review highlights how this conflict in policy decision making can serve to either facilitate or hinder the introduction of graduated driver licensing systems. However, policy makers whose focus on mobility is too strong when compared with safety may be mistaken, with evidence suggesting that after a graduated driver licensing system is introduced young drivers adapt their behaviour to the new system and remain mobile. As a result, policy makers should consciously acknowledge the conflict between mobility and safety and consider an appropriate balance in order to introduce these systems. Improvements to the licensing system can then be made in an incremental manner as the balance between these two priorities change. Policy makers can achieve an appropriate balance by using empirical evidence as a basis for their decisions.
publisher: Institute of Health Promotion and Education
date: 2010
type: Journal Article
format: application/pdf
relation: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/31043/1/c31043.pdf
relation: DOI:10.1080/14635240.2010.10708181
relation:    Bates, L., Watson, B.,  & King, M.   (2010)    Mobility and safety are conflicting goals for transport policy makers when making decisions about graduated driver licensing.  International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 48(2), pp. 46-51.    
identifier: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/31043/
rights: Copyright 2010 Institute of Health Promotion and Education
source: Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety - Qld (CARRS-Q); Faculty of Health; Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation