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In Germany, courses for the restoration of the fitness to drive after licence revocation are provided for different offender groups (alcohol, drug and demerit point offenders). Providers of these courses are by law required to prove the effectiveness of the applied course programs. For the evaluation of effectiveness, the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) established specific "Reference Values" in 2002. The objective of the study at hand was to collect valid data in order to renew the old-established Reference Values from 2002. Additionally, data collection aimed at initializing Reference Values for drug offender programs. Over 66,000 drivers were analysed regarding their traffic probation in the three years after licence reinstatement. Offenders were assigned to an offender group (alcohol, drugs and demerit point offenders) based on the reason for prior licence revocation. Different indicators were used as criteria for re-offending: new alcohol or drug records, culpable accident involvement and repeated licence revocation. For each of the offender groups, frequency distributions regarding these indicators were calculated. Frequencies of recidivism are highest for the group of demerit point offenders. Compared to the Reference Values of this group from 2002, frequencies of re-offending increased. Conversely, re-offence frequencies of alcohol offenders are halved compared to the data from 2001. The analysis of the re-offence frequencies of drug offenders reveals an equal amount of re-offenders as in the alcohol offender group. The collected data serve as a good base for renewal of the old-established Reference Values and may be applicable as comparative data for future evaluations The results reveal significant differences between recent data and earlier studies. These may occur due to improvements of the applied programmes, but also due to situational changes, e.g. increased enforcement levels and expansion of the catalogue of offenses which lead to demerit points.
Learner drivers are readied for their participation in motorised transport within the framework of specific, internationally-diverse preparation systems. These systems are historically developed and are characterised by country-specific economic, infrastructural, legal and cultural circumstances. With the aid of functionally-distinguishable teaching and learning methods as well as testing methods, a conceptual framework was created whilst drawing upon research-methodological approaches of comparative political science as well as teaching and learning principles that facilitated a description and analysis of the systems for a comparative observation to be performed. The systems for the preparation of learner drivers in 44 countries are illustrated in the report. The descriptions are based upon surveys of experts from various institutions (ministries of transport, driving instructor associations, testing organisations) as well as upon literary and Internet research. Alongside European countries with a traditional formal driver training, \"Graduated Driver Licensing\" systems that are primarily encountered in English-speaking countries were also taken into account when selecting the countries. They are characterised by the guarantee of gaining comprehensive driving experience under reduced risk conditions in the form of supervised driving prior to the start of independent driving as well as protective special rules for learner drivers whilst gaining further driving experience during the initial phase of independent driving. The results enable a detailed insight into the country-specific structure of learner driver preparation with the components of the formal driver training in driving schools, informal teaching and learning methods such as supervised driving, the driving tests that must be successfully completed as well as legal frameworks and quality assurance measures. The functionality of system components and architectures shall be discussed against the backdrop of evaluation findings regarding the effectiveness in terms of safety.
To determine whether the model "Accompanied driving from age 17" (AD17) contributes to improvement of young drivers' road safety, two large random samples of novice drivers drawn from the Central Register of Driving Licences (ZFER) held at the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) were compared in terms of the rates of accident involvement and traffic offences at the start of their solo driving career. The samples comprised former participants in the AD17 model and novice drivers of the same age who had obtained a driving licence in the conventional manner immediately after their 18th birthday. Both analysis groups were contacted by post and asked to complete an online questionnaire. In response, 19,000 drivers reported on their first year of solo driving and on the occurrence of any accidents or traffic offences during this period. The analyses were repeated with two "silent" analysis groups comprising a total of 75,000 drivers, for whom any records of traffic offences were retrieved from the Central Register of Traffic Offenders (VZR), with a distinction being made between offences in connection with an accident and other offences. The AD17 model was introduced in all 16 German federal states between April 2004 and January 2008. By the end of 2009, almost one million novice drivers had participated in the model, and almost three-quarters of the target group - so-called "early beginners" who wished to commence solo driving immediately after reaching the age of 18 years - opted for the AD17 model. The phase of introduction of the model was associated with a temporary increase of around five per cent in the demand for driving licences from persons under 19 years of age. During the first year of solo driving, the rate of accident involvement for AD17 participants was 19 per cent lower and the rate of traffic offences 18 per cent lower than for drivers of the same age who had obtained their driving licence in the conventional manner. After adjustment for confounds (e.g. gender and vehicle availability), a reduction in accidents by 17 per cent and in traffic offences by 15 per cent remained as an effect attributable to the model. A comparison on the basis of the distances driven indicated 22 per cent fewer accidents and 20 per cent fewer traffic offences. The results are statistically significant and apply to both male and female drivers. The findings were confirmed in the replication study based on VZR data, with one exception: For female AD17 drivers, and here only for VZR-recorded offences excluding accidents, no significant reduction was found. On the other hand, the rate for female drivers is already lower than that of their male counterparts by three-quarters. Approximately 1,700 injury accidents were prevented by implementation of the model in 2009.
Abstract: The number of accidents that can be attributed to driving under the influence of psychoactive substances (alcohol, drugs, and certain medicines) is constantly on a high level with drugs and medicines proportionally increasing over the years. The overall objective of the EU 6th Framework Programme project DRUID is to gain better knowledge of the various aspects of driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol and medicines. DRUID wants to offer scientific support to EU transport policy makers by suggesting guidelines and measures to combat impaired driving. To reach this ambitious aim a wide range of studies is conducted. The various studies are divided into seven work packages with complex interdependencies. There are experimental studies assessing the effects of single and combined psychoactive substances on driving performance (WP1) as well as epidemiological studies aiming to assess the situation in Europe regarding prevalence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances in drivers (WP2).The principal objective of these studies is to gain relative risk estimates for traffic accident involvement of drivers impaired by psychoactive substances and to recommend substance concentration thresholds. A theoretical framework which allows the integration of the experimental and epidemiological findings serves as a fundament for developing these recommendations. WP3 aims at improving the possibilities of detecting drug driving in Europe. Police forces evaluate practically (under realistic enforcement conditions) oral fluid screening devices. A scientific evaluation of oral fluid screening devices and other methods (i.e. roadside checklists of signs of impairment) is done as well. The outcome of the practical and scientific evaluations serves as input to cost-benefit analyses of enforcement.