Telemetric longitudinal measurement of young driver behaviour

Abstract

New Zealand is one of the few countries that currently allows teenagers to become solo drivers at 15 ½ years of age. During their first six months of solo driving, these teenagers are 19 times more likely to crash compared to the period of supervised driving. The behaviour of these adolescent drivers represents the single largest cause of fatalities in that age group and is widely acknowledged as one of the most serious social issues facing New Zealand. This state of affairs, often referred to as ‘the young driver problem,’ with an over representation of young drivers in motor vehicle crashes, is not unique to New Zealand. In fact, a similar situation can be found inmost of the world’s developed nations.