How can we produce safer new drivers?

This report reviews evidence for the effectiveness of post-licence driving experience, driver education and training, and limiting the exposure of new drivers to risk through graduated driver licensing (GDL) in lowering new-driver collisions.

New drivers, especially young new drivers, are over-represented in road collisions worldwide.

Increased post-licence driving experience is associated with considerable drops in collision risk, with the greatest benefits accruing in the earliest stages of post-licence driving.

Driver education and training has little or no direct effect on the collision risk of new drivers. The exception to this is training that focuses on the cognitive skills involved in hazard perception or “reading the road”.

GDL has been shown to have considerable beneficial effects on the collision risk of new drivers, and the benefits are greatest for the youngest new drivers. It is recommended that all jurisdictions should consider some form of GDL, and a greater focus on the training of hazard-perception skills as part of driver licensing.

Broader driver education and training should be relied upon to impart the basic vehicle-control skills required for access to the road system, and for encouraging safer attitudes to driving. However, it should not be expected to produce direct benefits in terms of lowering the collision risk of new drivers. Good-quality evaluation must form the basis of understanding what works, and what does not, in lowering the collision risk of new drivers.