Identity and Indicators: Driving behaviour and outcomes for young people

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Identity and Indicators Driving behaviour and
outcomes for young people
Ministry of Youth Development Seminar
series Friday 2nd May 2008 Wellington

• Dr Simon Kingham
• Dept of Geography
• University of Canterbury
• Te Whare Wananga O Waitaha

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Seminar Outline

• About me
• Why am I here and Why are you here?
• Youth driving research
• What impact does youth driving-behaviour have?
• Driving age research
• What impact did the GDLS have on youth accident
  rates?
• Car culture (Boy Racers) research
• Who are they?
• Are they a problem?
• What can be done about them?

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About me

• Associate Professor of Geography, University of
  Canterbury, Te Whare Wananga O Waitaha
• Widely published researcher - Air Pollution,
  health, transport - including pollution exposure,
  environmental justice, pollution health,
  Walking school buses, road traffic accidents,
  commuter travel, car culture, driving age

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Driving age
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Driving age

• Road traffic accidents are a major cause of
  premature death and hospitalisations for youth
• Driving age of 15 is lowest in world
• 1987 Graduate Driver Licence System (GDLS)
  introduced
• Stage 1 - Learner licence
• Stage 2 - Restricted licence
• Stage 3 - Full licence
• 1999 further changes to the GDLS
• introduction of the full licence test
• increases to minimum holding periods for learner
  and restricted licences
• abandonment of oral test in favour of a more
  comprehensive written test
• stiffer penalties for breaching GDLS conditions

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Driving age

• After GDLS introduction immediate 29 reduction
  in car crash injuries for 15-19 year olds
  (Langley et al. 1996)
• Reduction in fatal car crashes for 15-19 year
  olds continued for 2 years before stabilising at
  8 below 1986 levels (Williams 1996)
• But NZ youth car crash fatality rate higher than
  many other similar nations
• 1993 15-24 year old car crash fatality rate
  (Langley et al. 1996)
• NZ 37.2 per 100,000
• US 28 - Canada 22.2 - GB 14.3

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Driving age

• Road accident youth mortality has gone/is going
  down
• But did the GDLS help reduce it?
• Or was it other factors e.g. improved road
  safety, engineering, vehicle design etc?

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Driving age

• Method
• Compare youth mortality rates for NZ and England
  Wales and Scotland
• 1980-2003 (EW 1990-03 only)
• Compare driving experience (e.g. NZ 15 yrs to UK
  17 yrs)

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Driving age

• Results

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Fig 1 Road traffic accident mortality rates for
15-19 age group and 15 year olds only, New
Zealand 1980-2001
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Fig 2 Total motor vehicle-related mortality
rates comparison for 15-19 age groups in New
Zealand, England and Wales, and Scotland
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Fig 3 Road traffic accident mortality rates
comparison of 15 year olds in New Zealand to 17
year olds in England and Wales, and Scotland
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Fig 4 Total road traffic accident mortality
rates comparison of 16 year old in New Zealand
to 18 year olds in EW and Scotland
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Fig 5 Road traffic accident mortality ratio of
New Zealand to Scotland, ages 15, 16 and 17,
1981-2000 (3 year moving averages)
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Fig 6 Road traffic accident mortality ratio of
15 year olds in New Zealand to 17 year olds in
Scotland, and 16 to 18 year olds (3 year moving
averages).
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Conclusions

• Rates in NZ higher than EW and Scotland
• Rates in all countries declining
• Limited evidence of GDLS showing extra reduction
• Some evidence that relative rates were already
  declining
• Relative rates rise again in recent years are
  consistently higher in NZ
• Youth traffic accident rates and associated
  mortality are high compared to similar countries
• Still a significant issue
• Still too young to drive?

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Boy Racers
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Boy Racers

• Term Boy Racers collectivises and homogenises a
  group of people with a broad range of
  characteristics and is often inaccurate
• Sub-culture that is based round cars (Car-Centred
  Sub-Culture - CCSC)

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Aims

• Research based on related projects
• Interviews with CCSC and stakeholders
• Observations of CCSC
• Varying aims and objectives
• Deconstruct term Boy Racers
• Characteristics who and why
• Behaviours what and where
• Policy recommendations
• Impact of race meetings on behaviour

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Characteristics

• No set characteristics of CCSC but
• Interest in cars, motor sports and/or car
  maintenance
• Not always boys (7030), not always racing
• Generally younger (14-22yrs)
• Generally lower SE
• Motivations for association

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Behaviours

• Core
• Communication via word-of-mouth, cell-phones
  car horns Congregation Monopolising space
  Socialising Alcohol Consumption Parading (of
  cars self) Vehicle people appraisal Car
  modification enhancement Littering Burn-outs
  Donuts Drag races Exceeding speed limits
  Unnecessary acceleration Vandalism of road
  surfaces verges
• Peripheral
• Drug sales drug use Vandalism of private
  property and vegetation Graffiti Intimidation
  violence
• Space and place dependent

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Policy recommendations

• Recognition of CCSC as a collection of people
  with a common interest in cars, and as a cultural
  group that has a right to meet and use public
  spaces
• Avoid collectivising and homogenising term such
  as boy racer and hoon
• Acknowledge variability in CCSC membership
• Initiate dialogue with representatives of the
  CCSC
• Mechanisms to deter anti-social behaviour
  provide a means to punish illegal activities
• e.g. Rumble strips between lanes on main roads,
  cameras
• Consider outcomes of spatially specific policies
  dont just shift problems

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Policy recommendations

• Provide an area where CCSC can park up, interact
  with one another and appraise other vehicles on
  weekend evenings
• Support small-scale, organised car-enthusiast
  clubs
• Cohesive strategising between regulatory bodies
  and between geographical areas
• GDLS - engine-size restrictions on learner and
  restricted licenses
• Proactive not reactive
• Education

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Impact of race meetings on behaviour

• Background
• Burn out pads and race meetings suggested as
  policy to alleviate problem gets it out of
  their system
• Aim
• Does involvement in motor sport promote positive
  attitudes to speeding and translate these
  attitudes to risky driving behaviours?
• Method
• Survey of 180 under 25yrs males
• 2 criterion measures (risky driving behaviours,
  participation in street racing) were predicted
  using surveyed variables (sensation seeking,
  participation in motor sport, attitude to
  speeding, risk perception)

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Impact of race meetings on behaviour

• Results
• Model predicted 32 of total variance in risky
  driving behaviour
• Model predicted 45 of the total variance in
  illegal street racing behaviour
• Involvement in motor sport has an impact on
  driving behaviour
• Involvement in motor racing increases the
  likelihood that drivers will report violations (
  hence increase their chance of involvement in an
  accident)
• Motor racing enthusiasts are more likely to
  believe that speed limits are too restrictive or
  that driving over the speed limit is acceptable
  if you are a skilful driver (this effect is
  independent of the influence of sensation seeking
  propensity)
• Interest in motor sport also increases the
  likelihood of involvement in illegal street
  racing, even controlling for sensation seeking

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Conclusions

• Some issues with youth and driving
• Greater accident risk and mortality
• Problems associated with CCSC
• Young age of driving
• Cheap, easy access to cars (esp. high performance
  cars)
• Insurance? ACC?

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• Thanks for listening
• Questions