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Characteristics of Chinese Drivers in Mandatory Training After License Suspension

This study explores the demographics and behaviors of Chinese drivers undergoing mandatory retraining courses following license suspension due to a demerit point system in Zhejiang Province. Focused on 239 participants, our findings reveal a predominantly male group with a mean age of 35, high private vehicle ownership, and varying infringement rates. The research highlights the effectiveness of current driver education protocols and emphasizes the need for further evaluation of demerit point impacts on driver behavior and road safety in China.

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Characteristics of Chinese Drivers in Mandatory Training After License Suspension

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  1. Characteristics of Chinese Drivers Attending a Mandatory Training Course Following Licence Suspension Dr Judy Fleiter Postdoctoral Research Fellow Co-authors: WATSON, Barry; GUAN, Manquan; DING, Jingyan, XU Cheng

  2. Collaboration • Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from Australia’s National Health & Medical Research Council to promote Australia-China road safety research • Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou, China (2 years) • CARRS-Q, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia (2 years)

  3. Overview • Background – Demerit point system and driver retraining in Zhejiang Province • Method • Findings • Conclusion and Recommendations

  4. Background • Traffic law enforcement relies on penalties and sanctions: • Vehicle (eg Impoundment) • Person (eg. Remedial programs, Detention) • Licence (eg. Suspension, Disqualification) • Commonly administered by Demerit points system

  5. Demerit point systems • Vary between countries • Offences have predetermined # points assigned • Often, more severe offences associated with greater number of points • Licence holders accrue (or lose) points • Threshold (predetermined limit) is reached within certain timeframe • Licence suspended or disqualified for set time van Schagen & Machata, 2012

  6. Variations (1) • Threshold commonly 12-18 points (Bulgaria = 39) • New Zealand - 12 points over 2 years • Australia - 12 points over 3 years • China - 12 points over 1 year • Parts of EU, 1 pt/offence; 3 offences = suspension • Other places, 6 or 8 points per offence • Different thresholds for different drivers Styles et al, 2009; van Schagen & Machata, 2012

  7. Variations (2) • Novice drivers • Queensland: part of Graduated Driver Licensing system, Learner and Provisional Licence holders have 4 points/year • Professional drivers • Italy: Offences committed when driving professionally tallied in separate driving record • Repeat offenders • Prolonged periods of suspension for recidivists in some places • Double demerits at particular times (eg holidays)

  8. China • Rapid recent motorisation • Significant road trauma burden • Large increase in • newly licensed drivers • private car ownership • Major challenge to manage record numbers of 1st time car owners and novice drivers

  9. Retraining after Licence Suspension (1) • 12 points in 1 year = licence suspension for 1 month • Mandatory 1 wk retraining • own expense • Must pass examination to regain licence • Course administered & run by Traffic Police Department, Public Security Bureau • Low cost (RMB 51 in Zhejiang Province) • Average annual income = RMB35,731 Urban; RMB13,071 Rural

  10. Retraining Course Content

  11. Retraining after Licence Suspension (2) • Offences leading to licence loss include: • Speeding • Unlicensed driving • Vehicle overloading • Red light running • Alcohol-impaired driving • Driving wrong way on a one way street

  12. Retraining after Licence Suspension (3) • If Course done twice in 1 year, suspension period doubles (2 months) • If suspended 3rd time, must redo novice driver training (more extensive, takes approx 2 months) • Recent revision to regulation: • Accrue 10 demerit points in 1 year, can apply to undertake 2 day course to regain 4 points • Can only do this once

  13. Little is known about effectiveness of demerit point schemes and driver education in China……

  14. Research Aim Pilot study to examine basic information about participants of a driver retraining course to gain baseline data

  15. Zhejiang Province

  16. Zhejiang Province • South east coast of China • Hangzhou is capital city • Population 54+ million (end 2011) • Registered vehicles 6.5+ million (end 2011) • Valid licences: 12.1+ million • 22.36% of population, end 2011 • In 2011, 1.38 million new licences issued • 17% increase on previous year. Zhejiang Traffic Management Department, 2012; Zhejiang Public Security Bureau, 2012

  17. Method • 2 visits by research team to Driver Retraining Centre in Hangzhou • Anonymous questionnaire completed ‘in class’ in presence of research team • Responses not available to training staff • 94% response rate • 239 participants

  18. Sample Characteristics • 87% male • Higher than Provincial level of licence holders • Approx 2/3 male • Private vehicle ownership = 83.3% • Mean age 35 years (SD=8.7, Range 21-60)

  19. Age distribution

  20. Annual Income • Zhejiang Average annual income = RMB35,731 Urban; RMB13,071 Rural

  21. Number of Years Licensed

  22. Hours Driven/Week Mean = 18.06 hours/week, SD=14.4, Range 1 – 86 hours

  23. # Infringements in Last Year • Mean = 4.6 infringements (SD=3.2, Range 2-18) • 33% reported 5+ infringements • 4.3% reported 10 + infringements • Most commonly reported violations...

  24. Avoiding Legal Penalty? • Received Infringements but didn’t pay them in the last year? • 24% Yes • Number of infringements not paid

  25. Certainty of Receiving Penalty if… • Caught by speed camera • 76% sure they would receive penalty • Caught by traffic police officer • 82.6% sure they would receive penalty • Then asked if previously used specific strategies to avoid detection or penalty

  26. Strategies to Avoid Penalty Percentage reporting ‘Sometimes to Always’

  27. Crash Involvement (1) • Previous year • M = 0.53 crashes (SD=0.9; Range 0-5) • 14.5% reported >1 crash • No information on ‘at fault’ crashes • Length held licence examined to see if difference in crashes

  28. Crash Involvement (2) • Four groups created according to length of time licensed • Novice drivers (<2 years licensed) • 2-5 years licensed • 6-10 years licensed • 11+ years licensed • Significant difference found between Novice & 11+ • Novice drivers reported more crashes • No other differences found

  29. Conclusions (1) • Driver retraining courses vary across international jurisdictions • Some show +ve results when evaluated • No evaluation data available for China • Little known about effectiveness of driver education processes in China Delhomme, Grenier, & Kreel, 2008; Senserrick, Yu, Wei, Stevenson, & Ivers, 2011

  30. Conclusions (2) • Research conducted approx. 1 year after serious penalties increased for Drunk driving DWI in China (May 2011) • Encouraging that only 2.2% reported DWI (0.08+ BAC) in previous year • Lesser offence (DUI – 0.02-0.08 BAC) reported by two thirds of sample • Suggests that ongoing effort needed to educate about risks of DUI • Half sample reported speeding offences. Work still needed to promote speed limit compliance

  31. Conclusions (3) • Integrity of penalty system is critical to effective traffic law enforcement • Effective deterrence relies on high perceived risk of apprehension and certainty of receiving penalty • 1/3 reported avoiding penalty in previous year • Various strategies reported • Encouragingly, majority reported not engaging in avoidance behaviours • Important to strengthen integrity of system to reduce opportunities for punishment avoidance

  32. Conclusions (4) • Limitations acknowledged: • Self-report data – no link to official violations database • No conclusions on effectiveness of demerit point scheme or retraining course – data not available • Use of retraining course shows willingness to improve road safety situation in China • Future research could build on this work to establish baseline data for comparison to assess effectiveness of retraining courses.

  33. 20th International Council on Alcohol, Drugs & Traffic Safety Conference Registration now open! www.t2013.com

  34. Thank you. Any comments/questions? j.fleiter@qut.edu.au Mark your Diaries! International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety Conference (2013) 25-28 August 2013, Brisbane Registrations now open! http://t2013.com CRICOS No. 00213J

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