Driving as a Public Health Problem

Young drivers have high injury rates and, as a result, high insurance premiums. Few interventions have been effective in reducing crash rates among young drivers, but restrictions introduced in other parts of the world such as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) have been shown to be effective. To address the young driver crash problem, Northern Ireland is planning changes to driver training and testing, including a passenger restriction which is regarded as a key element of GDL, from 2014. GDL aims to reduce young driver crash rates by reducing exposure to high risk conditions, such as carrying teenage passengers, drinking alcohol and driving late at night. GDL has been introduced in a number of countries, and this presentation will provide a review of available evidence on the effectiveness of GDL and outline how the introduction of GDL in Northern Ireland might be evaluated over the coming years. [Policy Briefing] [Presentation]