the experiences of parents and other supervisors in a graduated driver licensing program in...
TRANSCRIPT
The experiences of parents and other supervisors in a graduated driver licensing
program in Queensland, Australia
Lyndel Bates, Barry Watson, Mark King
Queensland Pre-July 2007 Queensland Post-July 2007Learner Theory Test Learner Theory Test
Minimum age 16.5 years Minimum age 16 years
Hold for a minimum of 6 months Hold for a minimum of 12 months
Zero alcohol limit (if < 25 years) Zero alcohol limit (if < 25 years *)
Must be supervised Must be supervised
Must display L plates Must display L plates
Can accumulate 3 demerit points Can accumulate 3 demerit points
Must carry licence Must carry licence
Record 100 hours in logbook
Must not use mobile in any way
Passenger(s) must not use mobile on loudspeaker function
Practical Driving Assessment Practical Driving Assessment
2
Driving Practice
3
CharacteristicOriginal-GDL
(n = 149)Hours (M, SD)
Enhanced-GDL (n = 183) Hours (M, SD)
Reported logbook hours 108.8 (12.7)
Reported driving practice 63.3 (48.0) 92.4 (24.8)
Driving practice with parents/ friends
52.8 (45.8) 83.3 (25.6)
Driving practice with professional instructor
11.5 (15.8) 9.8 (8.7)
Bold font indicates a statistically-significant difference.
Study Aims
Describe how parents and other private supervisors have responded to the changes made to the Queensland graduated driver licensing system in mid-2007
Examine differences in the experiences and perceptions of the parents and non-parents
Method
Combination of convenience and snowball sampling
Survey administered by the internet
Survey conducted between July 2009 and May 2010
Approximately 15-20 minutes to complete
$20 reimbursement for participation
Sample (1)
Sample 228 supervisors
− 116 (50.9%) parents− 112 (49.1%) non-parents
Age Parents (M = 44.1, sd = 8.6)
Non-parents (M = 36.2, sd = 13.1)
t (226) = 5.41, p = <.001
Sample (2)
Parent (%) Non-parent (%)
Total (%) Significance
GenderMaleFemale
42 (36.2)74 (63.8)
65 (58)47 (42)
107 (46.9)121 (53.1)
x2(1) = 10.90, p = .001
Marital statusSingleMarriedDe facto/ have a partnerPreviously married
12 (10.3)85 (73.3)10 (8.6)
9 (7.8)
50 (44.6)42 (37.5)13 (11.6)
7 (6.2)
62 (27.2)127 (55.7) 23 (10.1)
16 (7.0)
x2(3) = 38.43, p = < .001
Supervisor relationship
Relationship to the Learner:
− Parents
Mother: 34.2%
Father: 16.7%
– Non-parents
Stepmother: 3.1%
Stepfather: 2.2%
Other: 43.9%
Primary supervisor
Were you the primary supervisor for this person?
Total: Yes 63.2%, No 36.8%
– Parents: Yes 70.7%, No 29.3%
– Non-parents: Yes 55.4%, No 44.6%
Statistically significant difference:
– x2(1) = 5.76, p = .02
Number of Learners supervised
How many learners have you supervised while they were learning to drive in the past 12 months?
Total: M = 1.4– Parents: M = 1.5– Non-parents: M = 1.4
Not statistically significant: − t (226) = .50, p = .62
Number of hours of supervision
How many hours did you supervise the learner for?
Total: M = 79.6– Parents: M = 68.6– Non-parents: M = 91.1
Not statistically significant: – t (226) = - 1.90, p = .06
Parental involvement
How involved do you think parents should be in teaching their children to drive?
Total: M = 4.0– Parents: M = 4.1– Non-parents: M = 3.8
Not statistically significant: – t (226) = - 1.73, p = .09
1Not very involved
5Very involved
PNP
Use of the Log book (1)
Did you record your supervision time in the log book?
• Total: M = 1.8– Parents: M = 1.6– Non-parents: M = 2.0
• Statistically significant: – t (226) = - 3.40, p = .001
1All practice
4No practice
NPP
Use of the Log book (2)
How accurate were the hours recorded?
Total: M = 3.7– Parents: M = 3.9– Non-parents: M = 3.4
Statistically significant: – t (226) = 3.92, p = <.001
1Not very accurate
5Very accurate
NP P
Importance of teaching (1)
How important do you think it is to teach your learner each of the following?
Behaviour M sd F1 dfStatistical
level
Remaining within the speed limitParent (n = 116)Non-parent (n = 112)
6.186.37
1.671.30
7.46 1, 222 p = .007
Car controlParent (n = 116)Non-parent (n = 112)
6.406.29
1.301.52
3.61 1, 222 p = .059
Hazard perceptionParent (n = 116)Non-parent (n = 112)
6.286.44
1.431.25
10.08 1, 222 p = .002
Following distancesParent (n = 116)Non-parent (n = 112)
6.106.36
1.491.28
10.70 1, 222 p = .001
1 The ANCOVA controlled for age, income, marital status and gender of the participants .
Importance of teaching (2)
Behaviour M sd F1 dfStatistical
level
FatigueParent (n = 116)Non-parent (n = 112)
5.976.23
1.571.50
6.3 1, 222 p = .013
Drink drivingParent (n = 116)Non-parent (n = 112)
6.346.34
1.471.47
3.61 1, 222 p = .059
Drug driving (illegal drugs)Parent (n = 116)Non-parent (n = 112)
6.376.46
1.421.29
4.84 1, 222 p = .029
Appropriate mobile phone behaviourParent (n = 116)Non-parent (n = 112)
6.346.39
1.421.42
5.62 1, 222 p = .019
1 The ANCOVA controlled for age, income, marital status and gender of the participants.
Discussion (1)
Private supervisors provide the majority of the supervised practice that learner drivers undertake in Queensland
Parents were more likely to report being the primary supervisor
However, non-parents reported providing a substantial amount of supervision
Overall, supervisors report that they record hours of practice reasonably accurately
Discussion (2)
Both parents and non-parents believe parents should be involved in teaching their children to drive
Parents were more likely to report recording the practice they supervised in the logbook, and for the hours to be accurate
Overall, non-parents were more likely to think it important to teach a range of safety-related driving behaviours
Study limitations Convenience sample
Unable to calculate response rates
May be a volunteer bias
The representation of parents vs. non-parents may not be generaliseable to the broader population
The study relied on self-report data
Conclusions GDL systems have traditionally encouraged
the greater involvement of parents
Mandating extensive hours of practice has resulted in more private supervision being provided to Learner drivers in Queensland
Non-parental supervisors appear to play a significant role, along with parents
Need to more directly support private supervisors, including non-parents
Further research Who are the non-parents involved in
supervising learners? At what stage do non-parents become
involved? Do parents and non-parents provide
different types of supervision? Does the parental involvement continue
into the provisional phase?
Questions?Dr Lyndel Bates: [email protected]
Professor Barry Watson: [email protected]
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