Accidents, driving behaviour and safety attitudes among novice drivers. Effect evaluation of revised regulations for category B driver training in Norway

Novice drivers who got their license in 2011-2012 had more positive road safety attitudes, better driving behaviour, and lower crash involvement risk during the first months of solo driving, compared to drivers who got their license in 2004. These are the results of a before-after survey in connection with the introduction of new regulations for category B driver training in Norway. The improvements are larger among males than among females, probably because of a decrease in the proportion of young males owning a car and driving daily. Although this is probably the main explanation for reduced crash involvement, there are indications that increased amount of accompanied driving in the learning phase may have yielded an additional risk decrease. The finding of larger decrease in self-reported crash involvement per licensed driver is supported by analyses of police-reported personal injury crashes for the period 2004-2012.