Transportation

Young people have more accidents after driving lessons

“Driving lessons do nothing to reduce the likelihood of collisions for young drivers,” says University of Montréal researcher Pierro Hirsch, who has just published his research findings in the Journal of Safety Research. In his view, if highway safety regulations took this finding into account, it would reduce youth mortality on our highways.

With 93 drivers aged 16 to 24 years involved in highway accidents per 1000 holders of driver's licenses, young people are “overrepresented” every year, according to the last highway safety survey done by the SAAQ (Québec’s automobile insurance agency). This age group accounted for 179 deaths and more than 1,422 serious injuries. This means that one in four highway accident victims is a young person.

In 1995, Mr. Hirsch realized that research over the past 20 years pointed to an astonishing observation: there was no scientific proof that driving courses decrease the risk of collision for teenage drivers. In fact, taking a course can even increase the risk. “In Ontario,” the researcher's article states, “drivers aged 16 to 19 years who took driving courses had a 45% higher collision rate than the group that did not take a course.” Other studies had led to similar conclusions in Nova Scotia, where they showed a 27% higher rate. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that young people can get a licence several months earlier if they are enrolled in a driving school. The SAAQ, for example, will grant a licence four months earlier. “Why should the licence process be shortened for a high-risk group of drivers? This is what I want to question,” said Mr. Hirsch.

In Canada, many provinces have similar policies. According to the doctoral student, this incentive should be abandoned as soon as possible. “In driving courses, young people learn driving technique. But caution is an attitude, not a skill, and it is unrealistic to think that it can be taught in 12 hours,” he comments. Mr. Hirsch is well qualified to talk about this, since he is actually co-owner of a driving school recommended by CAA-Québec, the Montréal Automobile League. According to the researcher, measures must be taken to improve this sad accident record. Novice drivers could be required to observe a curfew; they could be barred from roads on which they speed; or the number of allowed passengers could be limited. “It is a known fact that a young driver with three or four friends in the car is tempted to go faster.”