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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2008.150367v1 99/9/1638    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Ivers, R. Articles by Norton, R. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ivers, R. Articles by Norton, R. Related Collections Health Policy Adolescent Health Injury/Emergency Care/Violence

Rebecca Ivers, PhD, Teresa Senserrick, PhD, Soufiane Boufous, PhD, Mark Stevenson, PhD, Huei-Yang Chen, MSc, Mark Woodward, PhD and Robyn Norton, PhD

At the time of this study, the authors were with The George Institute for International Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Mark Woodward was also with Mount Sinai Medical School, New York, NY.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Rebecca Ivers, PhD, Director, Injury Division, The George Institute for International Health, PO Box M201 Missenden Road, NSW 2050, Australia (e-mail: rivers{at}george.org.au). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the "Reprints/Eprints" link.

Objectives. We explored the risky driving behaviors and risk perceptions of a cohort of young novice drivers and sought to determine their associations with crash risk.

Methods. Provisional drivers aged 17 to 24 (n = 20 822) completed a detailed questionnaire that included measures of risk perception and behaviors; 2 years following recruitment, survey data were linked to licensing and police-reported crash data. Poisson regression models that adjusted for multiple confounders were created to explore crash risk.

Results. High scores on questionnaire items for risky driving were associated with a 50% increased crash risk (adjusted relative risk = 1.51; 95% confidence interval = 1.25, 1.81). High scores for risk perception (poorer perceptions of safety) were also associated with increased crash risk in univariate and multivariate models; however, significance was not sustained after adjustment for risky driving.

Conclusions. The overrepresentation of youths in crashes involving casualties is a significant public health issue. Risky driving behavior is strongly linked to crash risk among young drivers and overrides the importance of risk perceptions. Systemwide intervention, including licensing reform, is warranted.

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				A. L.C. Martiniuk, R. Q. Ivers, N. Glozier, G. C. Patton, L. T. Lam, S. Boufous, T. Senserrick, A. Williamson, M. Stevenson, and R. Norton Self-harm and risk of motor vehicle crashes among young drivers: findings from the DRIVE Study Can. Med. Assoc. J., November 24, 2009; 181(11): 807 - 812. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]