The Role of Graduated Drivers' Licensing on Incidence and Severity of Road Traffic Injuries in Iran

Abstract

Aims: This study investigated the role of graduated drivers licensing, implemented by the Traffic Police of Iran, on reducing the severity and incidence of road traffic injuries. Study Design: It was an evaluation of the effectiveness of intervention by looking at the data before and after intervention. Place and Duration of Study: Data on road traffic crashes and injuries from one year before, one year after and two years after the implementation of educated drivers licensing were obtained from Iran Traffic Police database in 2010. Methodology: In this study the effectiveness of provisional license intervention by looking at the data before and after intervention was evaluated. After data cleaning and stratification of traffic injuries and mortalities, the post-education records of drivers, in their early years of driving experience, were compared against their pre-education driving experience. Results: Drivers under 23 years of age were involved in 22.8% of total road traffic injuries (RTIs) in the year prior to the implementation of graduated drivers licensing. This measure fell to 15.5% and 16.1% in the first and second years following the intervention among the holders of provisional B1 type driving license (p<0.001). Conclusion: Intervention is an effective way of reducing the number and severity of traffic injuries, particularly among the young and novice drivers are at a greater risk of RTIs. Such drivers can particularly benefit from graduated drivers licensing program which is proven to reduce the incidence and severity of road traffic injuries.