COHORT STUDY OF LEARNER AND NOVICE DRIVERS PART 2: ATTITUDES, OPINIONS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRIVING SKILLS IN THE FIRST 2 YEARS

A major cohort study was set up in 1988 to explore the relationship between the experience gained while learning to drive and the subsequent accident rates of recently qualified drivers. The study has the objective of gathering detailed information concerning the methods used by learner drivers in Great Britain, and of identifying any aspect of the learning experience which is particularly associated with better or poorer subsequent accident rates. Factors associated with better or poorer performance in the driving test, driver attitudes and the development of driving skills once the test has been passed are also examined. This report is the second in a series of 4 which will be published under the collective heading of "Cohort study of learner and novice drivers". It outlines the methodology of, and presents the findings from, component surveys of the attitudes and opinions of recently qualified drivers and the development of driving skills in the first 2 years. The attitudes and opinions of drivers concerning a range of road safety issues, the training and testing system in Great Britain, their own driving ability (and that of other drivers), their driving style, the importance of factors in causing road accidents and possible countermeasures directed at young-newly qualified drivers are discussed. The results of driving skills assessments conducted with 400 new drivers at intervals during their first 2 years of driving are considered in relation to findings from the survey of performance in the learner driving test. (A)