Traffic Accidents and Convictions: Group Totals Versus Rate per Kilometer Driven |
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Authors: | G William Mercer |
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Institution: | Police Services Branch, 207,815 Hornby Street, Ministry of Attorney General, Vancouver British Columbia, V6Z 2E6 Canada. |
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Abstract: | Using group totals, young drivers, male drivers, and especially young male drivers are substantially over-represented in terms of both traffic accidents and traffic-related convictions. On the other hand, when accidents and convictions are considered in terms of their rates while the person is actually driving, older drivers and female drivers gain in importance, with the female drivers' traffic accident rate and rates for some convictions exceeding the male drivers' rates. Similarly, the older drivers' accident rate and rates on some convictions exceeded the younger drivers' rates when considered in terms of driving exposure. In addition, these findings lead one to speculate that recent driving exposure more than driver age is the central factor in traffic accident involvement. The implications for policy makers and educators are clear. Although young male drivers are undeniably a legitimate focus for traffic accident countermeasures, they should not be targeted at the expense of drivers who drive less but have as high or higher accident rates—female and older drivers. |
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Keywords: | Traffic accident rates traffic conviction rates driver age driver gender speeding convictions restraint device convictions impaired driving convictions sign/signal convictions no insurance/driver's license convictions |
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