A study by Western University, Canada, shows that stricter laws and regulations act as deterrents to rash driving. Researchers found that aggressive laws reduce the number of injuries and fatal accidents in young male drivers.
For the study, the researchers examined the effects of the 2007 driving laws. They analyzed data from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2011. Researchers noted that for the age group of 16-24, 1.21 percent of licensed drivers had their licenses suspended. Only .37 percent of men between the ages of 25 and 64 had their licenses taken away.
Researchers also said that the new law called the Ontario's Street Racers, Stunt, and Aggressive Drivers Legislation (Bill 203) helped reduce injuries and fatalities caused by speeding by a rate of 58 per month for male drivers between the ages of 16 and 24.
"First of all we looked at males and females, and then we looked at younger and older individuals because we know from my earlier research, that street racing and extreme speeding is an activity that typically younger males are more likely to engage in," said Evelyn Vingilis, PhD, a professor in Family Medicine at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry,in a press release.
"What we found was a substantial reduction in the number of convictions for extreme speeding for males, and no change for females because they were pretty low any way. And importantly, we found a significant decrease in the number of motor vehicle casualties of males 16 to 24 -quite a significant reduction."
The law allows impounding of vehicles for speeding for up to a week, Conviction an attract a fine of $2000-$10,000 and a license suspension for up to two years. The penalties become severe for every subsequent offense .
The study's findings were published in two different journals, the Accident Analysis & Prevention and the Traffic Injury Prevention.
