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Impact of the graduated driver licensing program in Nova
Scotia
Report from the Traffic Injury Research Foundation
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Executive Summary
Background
- New drivers, especially young ones, have extremely high crash rates.
Contributing to this problem is the common practice of allowing a quick
and easy path to unrestricted, full driving privileges.
- To address this problem, many jurisdictions are considering a new
form of licensing, called graduated licensing. It is a system similar
to an apprenticeship. Beginners get their initial driving experience
under conditions that involve lower risk and are then introduced, in
stages, to more complex driving situations.
- Graduated licensing is becoming increasingly popular with six provinces
and 24 U.S. states enacting some form of it since 1994. Very few of
these programs have been evaluated, so the safety benefits of the system
have not been well documented.
- This report describes the results of a comprehensive evaluation of
the Nova Scotia graduated licensing program.
- The Nova Scotia program was implemented on October 1, 1994 and applies
to all novice drivers, regardless of age. It spans 2 ½ years in two
stages – a 6-month Learner Phase, followed by a 24-month Newly Licensed
Driver Phase. During both Phases several driving restrictions apply,
most notably a requirement for adult supervision at all times in the
Learner Phase and a night driving restriction in the Newly Licensed
Driver Phase.
Objectives
- The primary objective of the evaluation was to determine if there
was a significant decrease in road crashes following the introduction
of the graduated licensing program.
- The study looked at the impact of the program on crashes involving
young drivers age 16 and 17 as well as its impact on all beginners,
not just those who are young.
- The secondary purpose was to gauge the effectiveness of the Nova Scotia
program, relative to other graduated licensing programs.
Method
- The study examined trends in road crashes, injuries and fatalities
in Nova Scotia before and after the graduated licensing program was
implemented to determine if significant changes could be traced to the
new system.
- The evaluation design was robust, involving a series of increasingly
refined analyses as well as comparisons with trends in other control
jurisdictions.
Results
- All the analyses showed that the graduated licensing program
in Nova Scotia has been associated with a significant reduction in crashes
and casualties.
- Among drivers age 16, there was a 24% decrease in total collisions
during the first full year of the program, and a 37% reduction over
the first three years of the program. Comparable decreases occurred
in casualty crashes.
- Improvements were also observed for all novice drivers not just those
who are young – there was a 19% drop in the collision rate among all
novice drivers.
Conclusions
- The results of this comprehensive and well controlled study clearly
demonstrate that the graduated licensing program in Nova Scotia
has been effective in reducing crashes and casualties among all new
drivers.
- All the graduated licensing programs that have been evaluated to date
– in New Zealand, Ontario and Florida – have proven to be effective.
But in terms of the magnitude of the impact, the Nova Scotia program
has been the most effective.
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