Young driver education programs that build resilience have potential to reduce road crashes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The research aimed to explore associations between participation in 2 education programs for school-based learner drivers and subsequent road traffic offenses and crashes among a large cohort of newly licensed drivers. METHODS: DRIVE is a prospective cohort study of 20 822 first-year drivers aged 17 to 24 in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Participants completed a detailed questionnaire and consented to data linkage in 2003-2004. Questionnaire items included year of participation in 2 specific education programs: a 1-day workshop-onlyprogramfocusingondriving risks ("driver-focused")and a whole-of-community program also including a 1-day workshop but also longer term follow-up ac..