Young drivers have high rates of injury in New Zealand and throughout the Western world. It is commonly perceived that a major reason for this is their tendency to engage in unsafe driving behaviours, something that has frequently been labelled ‘risk taking’. A study of the literature suggested that the term ‘risk taking’ has been used in a variety of different ways and may have obscured our understanding of young people’s motives. Theories and research reviewed on the causes of unsafe driving behaviour amongst adolescents revealed a variety of potential contributors, ranging from the individual to the social. There is little evidence to implicate young women as unsafe drivers, who are most at risk as passengers. A survey of sixth form students (n=626) found high levels of unlicensed driving, breaking the rules associated with a restricted licence, failing to wear a seat belt in the back seat, speeding and being the passenger of a drinking driver. In addition, the survey found significantly more males than females reported: driving, engaging in unsafe driving behaviours, drinking and driving, speeding on the open road, breaking the night curfew associated with being on a restricted licence and dangerous thought patterns. Females were more likely to have been the passenger of a drinking driver after the last party they attended. Interviews with a sub-sample of those surveyed (n=16) revealed a number of scenarios that led to unsafe driving. These included: peer group dynamics, the adolescent sub-culture, emotional stress, an apparent lack of awareness of risk, and practical considerations. The interviews also indicated a lack of policing of the rules associated with the Graduated Driver Licensing System (G.D.L.S.). Interventions aimed at changing the behaviour of young drivers are examined and driver education is looked at in some detail. Problems with methodology made it difficult to reach clear conclusions about the efficacy of past programmes. Health education literature was analysed to ascertain what may be the ingredients of effective programmes for driving safety. An intervention study was carried out that compared a group of sixth form students who received a programme for driving safety (n=176) with a control group (n=146). Measures of attitudes, knowledge and self-reported behaviours yielded no significant differences between the two groups in either the post-test or the follow-up. A variety of reasons for this outcome are put forward, including the programme’s emphasis on thinking processes and its low fear approach. The recommendations that are made for decreasing the teenage road injury rate include: better policing of the G.D.L.S., education programmes and media campaigns that focus on the young male’s sense of personal immunity from risk, and increased availability of safe transport on occasions when young people are drinking. It is stressed that comprehensive safety plans that target all age groups are likely to have the greatest impact.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/276934 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Harre, Nicole |
| Publisher | ResearchSpace@Auckland |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated., http://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm, Copyright: The author |
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