Citation

Boufous S, Ivers RQ, Senserrick TM, Stevenson MR, Norton R, Williamson A. Inj. Prev. 2010; 16(4): 275-277.

Affiliation

The George Institute for International Health, Sydney, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/ip.2009.024877

PMID

20423901

Abstract

In order to determine the accuracy of self-report of on-road crashes and traffic offences among participants in the DRIVE study, 2991 young drivers in New South Wales, Australia who completed the follow-up questionnaire were asked whether they had been involved in an on-road crash or were convicted for a traffic offence while driving during the year prior to the survey. This information was linked to police crash data to determine the level of accuracy of self-report of on-road crashes. There was a high level of accuracy in young drivers' self-report of police recorded crashes (85.1%; 95% CI 78.2% to 92.1%) and of police recorded traffic offences (83.0%; 95% CI 79.4% to 86.6%). Results suggest that surveys may be useful tools for estimating the incidence of on-road crashes and traffic offences in young drivers. The findings are particularly relevant to jurisdictions where access to administrative data is limited.

Language: en