Publication

Young drivers 16-19 years have a relative accident risk of 9-10 compared to drivers aged 55-64 years. Education and training of young drivers, which could reduce the death toll, have been an issue for many decades, but without much success regarding the effects on accidents. A more promising trend, which started in the mid-1980s, is generally known as graduated driver licensing (GDL). Many different layouts are put into practice in several countries and more than 20 different components have been developed. Jurisdictions need advice from research to elaborate and propose the best composition of GDL-components. The paper gives an overview of GDL-components. Summary effects for some of the most important components are calculated by means of meta-analysis, based on empirical accident studies. Finally, the paper discusses potentials of improvement of current Brazilian driver training practices and provides recommendations about combinations of components that contribute most to the effectiveness of GDL-programs.