Abstract
In June of 1983, the Texas Legislature amended the provisions of the driver licensing law which permitted an applicant to qualify for a Minor's Restricted Driver's License (MRDL). A quasi-experimental design was used to compare driving performance of samples from four populations. Measurements of driving performance for comparison were the mean rates of accidents and moving violations, recorded on driving records. To determine the impact of the law change, driving records of 15 year olds licensed by the MRDL provision during the 12 months before the law change were compared with driving records of 15 year olds licensed by the MRDL provision during the 12 months after the law change. Similarly, randomly selected driving records of 16 year olds licensed after completion of driver education (DE) during the same periods were compared. The analysis of variance was utilized to test the following contrasts: (a) the mean rates of accidents and moving violations of the prelaw samples licensed by the old MRDL and the DE provisions, (b) the mean rates of accidents and moving violations of the prelaw-postlaw samples licensed by the old-and-new MRDL and the DE provisions, (c) the mean rates of accidents and moving violations of the postlaw samples licensed by the new MRDL and the DE provisions, (d) the mean rates of accidents and moving violations of the combined prelaw and combined postlaw samples of licensed 15-16 year old drivers. The Duncan's Multiple Range Test was used as a posttest to rank the sample mean rates and display significant differences. Analyses indicated that three contrasts displayed statistically significant differences. The prelaw DE licensed group experienced a significantly lower mean rate of accidents than did the prelaw MRDL group. The prelaw DE licensed group experienced a significantly lower mean rate of moving violations than did the prelaw MRDL group. The postlaw DE licensed group experienced a significantly lower mean rate of moving violations than did the postlaw MRDL group. The analyses comparing the combined prelaw samples and the combined postlaw samples of 15-16 year age groups of drivers found no significant difference in mean rates of either accidents or moving violations.
Ockert, Gerald Leon (1987). Assessment of the impact of the 1983 Minor's Restricted Driver's License law change in Texas. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -26929.