The effect on accident risk of a change in driver education in Denmark

Abstract

Driver education in Denmark was changed radically in 1986. An evaluation study was undertaken to see whether the new education concept had had any effect on the development in accidents. In an earlier part of the study, it was found that after the change in education the number of accidents involving 18–19-year-olds in the official statistics had decreased more than that involving mature drivers. This fact could not solely be attributed to changes in population size, changes in exposure, mild winters in the period after the change, etc. It seemed, therefore, reasonable to attribute the effect to the changes in driver education. In the present study, two groups of new car drivers — trained according to the old and new programs respectively — were followed-up with four questionnaires through their first 5.5 years as drivers. The decrease in accidents found in the official statistics was also found for the drivers in the questionnaire study. The decrease is mainly concentrated in the 1st year of driving, and is found in multiple-vehicle accidents and manoeuvring accidents. The number of single-vehicle accidents did not change. Those who received training which satisfied a number of the basic requirements in the new education program, had a lower accident risk than those whose education did not meet these requirements. This can be seen as an indication that the decrease in accidents is explainable, at least in part, by changes in driver education.