Associations of repeated high alcohol use with unsafe driving behaviors, traffic offenses, and traffic crashes among young drivers: Findings from the New Zealand Drivers Study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe self-reported high alcohol use at each of the 3 licensing stages of graduated driver licensing and its relationship to drink-driving behaviors, intentional risky driving, aggressive driving, alcohol traffic offenses, non-alcohol traffic offenses, and traffic crashes.

Methods: The New Zealand Drivers Study (NZDS) is a multistage, prospective cohort study of newly licensed drivers interviewed at all 3 stages of the graduated driver licensing system: learner (baseline), restricted (intermediate), and full license. At each stage, alcohol use was self-reported using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C), with high alcohol use defined as a score of ≥4 for males and ≥3 for females.

Participation in driver education/training courses during graduated driver licensing, and the effect of a time-discount on subsequent traffic offenses: Findings from the New Zealand Drivers Study.

Introduction: The New Zealand GDL includes a time-discount at the restricted license stage, for attendance at an approved driver education course. This is despite international evidence showing that earlier licensure associated with a time-discount can increase risk for newly licensed drivers.

Objective: To examine participation in driver education courses and especially those that qualify for a time-discount; compare the profiles of course participants with non-participants; examine reasons for participation; and examine the association between a time-discount and traffic offenses once fully licensed.

Pre-licensed driving experience and car crash involvement during the learner and restricted, licence stages of graduated driver licensing: Findings from the New Zealand drivers study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether pre-licence driving experiences, that is driving before beginning the licensing process, increased or decreased crash risk as a car driver, during the learner or the restricted licence stages of the graduated driver licensing system (GDLS).

Method: Study participants were 15-24 year old members of the New Zealand Drivers Study (NZDS) - a prospective cohort study of newly licensed car drivers. The interview stages of the NZDS are linked to, the three licensing stages of the GDLS: learner, restricted and full.

Unsupervised driving by learner licence holders: associated characteristics and crash risk.

Aims: To determine: (a) the association between socio-demographic, and behavioural factors and compliance with supervised driving condition as a learner licensed driver, (b) whether unsupervised driving as a learner licence holder was associated with elevated crash risk while holding a learner licence.

Study Design: The study population was the New Zealand Drivers Study (NZDS) cohort, a prospective cohort study designed to explore the relationship between a comprehensive range of driving and traffic safety related factors and subsequent traffic crashes and convictions among newly licensed drivers.

Results: Thirty-one percent of the study sample was non-compliant at least once with the supervised driving condition.

Parental influence on adolescent compliance with graduated driver licensing conditions and crashes as a restricted licensed driver: New Zealand drivers study.

Aim: To examine the influence of parental knowledge of, and support for graduated driver licensing (GDL) conditions, parental management of adolescent driving and parental driving behaviour on adolescent compliance with GDL conditions and crashes as a restricted licence driver.

Method: This research was part of the New Zealand Drivers Study (NZDS), a prospective cohort study of 3992 newly licensed car drivers. NZDS participants were recruited at the learner licence stage, with follow-up aligned with the GDL stages.

Validity of using linked hospital and police traffic crash records to analyse motorcycle injury crash characteristics.

Linking hospital discharge and police traffic crash records has been used to provide information on causes and outcomes for hospitalised traffic crash cases. Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable to injury in a traffic crash, but no published linkage studies have reported in detail on this road user group. The present study examined motorcycle traffic crash injury cases in New Zealand in 2000-2004 by probabilistically linking national hospital discharge records with police traffic crash reports.

Reducing young driver crash casualties in Great Britain - use of routine police crash data to estimate the potential benefits of graduated driver licensing.

Crashes involving young drivers (YD) cause significant morbidity and mortality in Great Britain (GB). Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) is used in some countries to address this. This study assessed potential casualty and cost savings of possible GDL programmes in GB.

Establishment of the New Zealand Drivers Study.

Aim: Despite a significant improvement since graduated licensing was introduced, traffic related injury remains the leading cause of death and hospitalisation among young New Zealanders. The New Zealand Drivers Study (NZDS) was established with a view to providing information that would lead to an improvement in this situation. The NZDS is a prospective cohort study designed to explore the relationship between a comprehensive range of driving and traffic safety related factors and subsequent traffic crashes and convictions among newly licensed drivers.

Age, period and cohort effects on the incidence of motorcyclist casualties in traffic crashes.

Objectives: (1) Estimate age, period and cohort effects for motorcyclist traffic casualties 1979-2008 in New Zealand and (2) forecast the incidence of New Zealand motorcycle traffic casualties for the period 2019-2023 assuming future age, cohort and period effects, and compare these with an estimate based on simple linear extrapolation.

Methods: Age-period-cohort (APC) modelling was used to estimate the individual effects of age, period and cohort after adjusting for the other two factors. Forecasting was produced for three period-effect scenarios.

The characteristics of young pre-licensed drivers: evidence from the New Zealand Drivers Study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify demographic and behavioural factors associated with pre-licensed driving.

Method: A cohort comprising 3526 newly licensed drivers aged 15-24 years old from throughout New Zealand completed a questionnaire which sought information on pre-licensed driving behaviour and factors thought to be related to this.

Results: Almost half of the participants had driven on-road prior to passing their learner license theory test; 14% had driven more than 20 times; and 7.

Nonprogression through graduated driver licensing: characteristics, traffic offending, and reasons for nonprogression.

Objectives: In a graduated driver license environment, (1) compare nonprogressors with progressors in terms of prelearner license sociodemographic and behavioral factors, (2) determine whether nonprogressors were more likely to have had a traffic offense than progressors, and (3) determine why nonprogressors chose not to progress.

Methods: Our study population was that of the New Zealand Drivers Study (NZDS), a prospective cohort study of newly licensed drivers designed to explore the relationship between a comprehensive range of driving and traffic safety related factors and subsequent traffic crashes and convictions among newly licensed drivers. Nonprogressors, those who had not progressed from a learner to a restricted license 2 years after being eligible to do so, were compared with progressors in terms of their sociodemographic, behavioral characteristics, and traffic offense outcomes.

Adolescent, and their parents, attitudes towards graduated driver licensing and subsequent risky driving and crashes in young adulthood.

Problem: Although Graduated Driver Licensing Systems (GDLS) have helped reduce young driver crash rates, they remain significantly over-represented in crash statistics. To be effective GDLS rely heavily on support for the legislation by those directly involved; parents to enforce the restrictions and adolescents to comply. There is some evidence that practices regarding GDLS restrictions influence adolescent driving outcomes in the early stage of licensure.

The opinions of newly licensed drivers in New Zealand on the minimum car driver licensing age and reasons for getting a licence.

Aim: To investigate the opinions of newly licensed drivers towards the minimum age of car driver licensing, and reasons for getting a licence.

Method: The New Zealand Drivers Study (NZDS) is a prospective cohort study of 3992 newly licensed car drivers in New Zealand, recruited between 1 February 2006 and 31 January 2008 from driver licensing agencies and licensing courses throughout New Zealand. The cohort comprises 51% females and 49% males, 49% were aged 15 years and 28% 16-17 years, 55% self-identified as New Zealand European, 21% Maori, 13% Pacific, 11% Asian, and 15% as "other".

Unlicensed driving among urban and rural Maori drivers: New Zealand drivers study.

Objective: To determine the extent and type of self-reported unlicensed car driving and reasons given for driving before getting a license among Maori drivers in urban and rural areas of New Zealand.

Method: Participants included 824 people of self-identified Maori ethnicity. The ages ranged from 15 to 65 years, with the majority of participants aged 15 (37%), 16 (21%), or 17 (14%) years at the time of recruitment.

A critical examination of the arguments against raising the car driver licensing age in New Zealand.

Objectives: In 1987, to address an increasing problem of injury among young drivers, New Zealand chose a graduated driver licensing system (GDLS), in preference to raising the minimum car driver licensing age. Since 1987 the GDLS has contributed to a significant reduction in young driver injury, but a recent spate of high-profile crashes has raised public concern about young drivers and road safety. In response to this concern, a bill has been introduced into the parliament to increase the minimum driver licensing age from 15 to 16 years.

A longitudinal examination of the relationship between adolescent problem behaviors and traffic crash involvement during young adulthood.

Previous research examining the relationship between adolescent problem behaviors and young adult traffic outcomes (crashes, convictions, risky driving) has produced differing results. Possible reasons for this may be the heterogeneity of the crash outcomes (from minor fender-benders to fatal crashes), the gender of the driver, and/or the age of the driver. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between adolescent problem behaviors and young adult crashes to determine the extent to which the above factors influenced this relationship.

The utility of routinely collected data in evaluating important policy changes: the New Zealand alcohol purchasing age limit example.

We used the recent lowering of the alcohol purchasing age in New Zealand to examine the proposition that routinely collected data are often insufficient in evaluating important policy changes. We estimated prechange and postchange incidence rate ratios for actual and hypothetical population sizes and hospital admissions related to alcohol poisoning and assaults. Even with a hypothetical youth population 10 times larger than New Zealand's actual youth population, comparisons were underpowered because there were too few observations.

Personality factors as predictors of persistent risky driving behavior and crash involvement among young adults.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between personality factors assessed during adolescence and persistent risky driving behavior and traffic crash involvement among young adults.

Design: Data for this investigation were drawn from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a longitudinal study of a cohort born in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Subjects: The study population was 1037 young people born between 1 April 1972 and 31 March 1973.

Minimum purchasing age for alcohol and traffic crash injuries among 15- to 19-year-olds in New Zealand.

Objectives: In 1999, New Zealand lowered the minimum purchasing age for alcohol from 20 to 18 years. We tested the hypothesis that this increased traffic crash injuries among 15- to 19-year-olds.

Methods: Poisson regression was used to compute incidence rate ratios for the after to before incidence of alcohol-involved crashes and hospitalized injuries among 18- to 19-year-olds and 15- to 17-year-olds (20- to 24-year-olds were the reference).

Usual water-related behaviour and 'near-drowning' incidents in young adults.

Objective: To describe usual water-related behaviour and 'near-drowning' incidents in a cohort of young New Zealand adults.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study based on data collected as part of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which is the study of a cohort (n = 1,037) born between 1 April 1972 and 31 March 1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand. The data analysed were collected at age 21 (1993/94).

Low back pain in young New Zealanders.

Aims: To describe the occupational implications and impact of low back pain (LBP) in a birth cohort now aged 26.

Methods: The LBP data were collected by an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Study members were asked about the prevalence and frequency of LBP and, for the worst episode, details were sought on occupation, time off work or job limitation, the severity of the discomfort, and disability.

Influences during adolescence on perceptions and behaviour related to alcohol use and unsafe driving as young adults.

Objective: To investigate whether aggression, parent and peer influences, and previous traffic-related experiences at ages 15 and 18 impacted on (a) differences between the perceived safe and estimated legal alcohol consumption limit, and (b) driving while impaired (DWI) behaviour at age 21.

Method: The study population was a birth cohort involved in a longitudinal investigation of health and development. At the ages of 15 and 18, study members completed questionnaires assessing parent and peer attachment, experience travelling with an alcohol impaired adult or youth, aggression, and previous crash experience.

Motor vehicle traffic crashes involving Maori.

Aims: To provide a descriptive epidemiology of fatal and non-fatal motor vehicle traffic (MVT) crashes involving Maori (1980-1994 inclusive) and to describe factors associated with those crashes.

Methods: A data set for 1980-1994 was created by linking: (1) the New Zealand Police traffic crash reports (providing crash details), and (2) the New Zealand Health Information Services (NZHIS) hospital inpatient and mortality files (providing ethnicity, other demographic and injury details).

Results: The linked data set contained 8178 MVT crash events involving 8273 vehicles/drivers in which there were 9288 Maori casualties.