Crash involvement during the different phases of the New Zealand Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDLS)

The New Zealand Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDLS) is designed to allow novice drivers to gain driving experience under conditions of reduced risk.

To examine the effectiveness of the GDLS, an analysis of how the crash involvement of novice drivers changes as drivers move through the GDLS was undertaken. Crash profiles were created by data matching the New Zealand license and crash databases, covering a time period from 1999-2006.

The crash profiles show that the initial learner period of the GDLS is relatively safe and the time at which novice drivers have the highest rate of crash involvement is during the first few months of solo driving. Analysis using logistic regression also showed an effect of age and gender, with higher crash involvement associated with younger drivers and males. In addition, individuals who gained a full license within 12-18 months of holding a restricted license, due to completion of a time-discount associated educational program, had a higher level of involvement in crashes than individuals who gained a full license after 18 months.

The crash profiles provide an insight into the crash risk associated with different phases of the New Zealand GDLS.

Increasing the age at which drivers first begin to solo drive and the removal of the time-discount associated with completion of an educational program should be considered.