Introducing the Young Driver Factbase
The George Institute has launched a new online resource called the Young Driver Factbase. The Factbase contains the most up-to-date information on young driver safety and provides recommendations based on the best available research evidence.
The policy environment for young drivers is a sensitive and sometimes heated, media-driven one in which the evidence about interventions being considered can take a back-seat to headlines, public response and pressure from different interest groups.
The Factbase has been designed to help policy makers and other stakeholders, such as media, youth practitioners and interest groups, understand and consider the available evidence about young driver safety issues.
Tabling a list of the major issues facing young drivers, the Factbase includes plain English summaries and discussions of available research evidence and an evidence-based position on controversial issues, such as driver behaviour, driver demographics, driver distractions and young driver restrictions.
Introducing new research outcomes into the pool of evidence under consideration, the Factbase also identifies gaps in our current understanding of best practice road safety for young drivers.
The Young Driver Factbase is updated as new evidence comes to hand, and will soon include information on the impact of self-harm, young driver education programs, and ethnicity and crash risk. Users can sign up to receive alerts, as new information is added to the site.