Research Studies & Reports
DMV’s Research & Development Branch has been conducting research and producing studies and reports since the 1950s. Research & Development reports help DMV to measure the impact of new laws on making drivers safer. We also identify areas where we can improve our processes, explore new approaches to solving existing problems, and branch out into new opportunities to serve you better.
Studies & Reports Sections
Studies and reports are assigned to a Section that best describes the type of report. Click on a section title below to see a short description.
I. Driver Education & Training Studies
II. Driver Licensing Screening Studies
III. Studies on Improvement and Control of Deviant Drivers
IV. Basic Research & Methodological Studies: Driver Performance, Accident Etiology, Prediction Models, and Actuarial Applications
V. Driver Licensing / Control Systems & Safety Management Studies
VI. Studies on Special Driver Populations
VII. Miscellaneous Studies & Reports
Request printed copies of studies and reports by mail at:
Department of Motor Vehicles
Research and Development Branch
2415 1st Ave. Mail Station: F-126
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 914-8125
Please include the report number, the number of copies requested, and your name, address, and phone number.
| Report ID | Date Published | Title | Section | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 162 | 1996/ 05 |
Predicting DUI Recidivism. Volume 1: Blood Alcohol Concentration and Driver Record FactorsThis study examined the relationship between BAC at arrest, driving history, and other demographic factors, and the 1-year post-arrest probability of recidivism for DUI convictees. BAC-only prediction models, complex prediction models involving many factors found on the driver record, and simple prediction models containing two or three factors were developed. All models found a third degree or cubic relationship between BAC and recidivism, and showed recidivism to be high at a BAC of 0.00%, decreasing down to a BAC of about 0.09%, increasing to a BAC of about 0.29%, and then decreasing again to a BAC of 0.35%+. High rates of recidivism at high BACs suggest alcohol dependency, while at low BACs other impairing substances are likely to be involved. The mean rate of DUI recidivism for offenders who refused to be tested for alcohol was the same as the mean rate for BAC-tested offenders who had prior DUIs at the time of the arrest. |
V | |
| NRN087 | 1996/ 04 |
Older Drivers with Medical Impairments: Identification and EvaluationTo give an overview of DMV's reexamination process for drivers with medical conditions, as well as other aspects of DMV's P&M (physical or mental impairment) program. To describe a federally funded pilot study to develop a battery of tests for identifying and evaluating the impaired older driver. |
VI | |
| 163 | 1996/ 03 |
AN EVALUATION OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY RISK OF BIOPTIC TELESCOPIC LENS DRIVERSThis report compares the 2-year accident and citation rates for 609 drivers who must wear a bioptic telescopic lens (BTL) device when driving with those for a randomly selected comparison group of 28,109 drivers. The criterion measures were statistically adjusted using age and gender as covariates. The results indicate that the adjusted total and fatal/injury accident rates for the BTL group were 1.9 and 1.7 times higher, respectively, than those for the comparison group. However, an opposite result was found for total citations; the adjusted rate for the BTL group was 0.7 of the adjusted rate for the comparison group on this measure. All of the differences were statistically significant. The differences in the adjusted means were even greater when only drivers with valid licenses were considered. These findings suggest that BTL drivers do not sufficiently compensate for their higherrisk status. The study also found that the department's policy of restricting BTL drivers from driving at night was followed for only 35% of the BTL subjects. The department is in the process of correcting this operational deficiency. |
VI | |
| 159 | 1996/ 01 |
1996 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA DUI MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMIn this fifth annual report, 1993 and 1994 DUI data from several diverse sources were compiled and cross-referenced for the purpose of developing a single comprehensive DUI data and monitoring system. This report presents crosstabulated information on DUI arrests, convictions, court sanctions, administrative actions and alcohol-involved accidents. In addition, this report provides an evaluation of the effectiveness of alternative court and administrative sanctions (including alcohol treatment programs and license actions) upon the postconviction records of first and second DUI offenders. The postconviction driving records of DUI offenders arrested in 1989, 1991, and 1993 were evaluated for five-, three-, and one-year periods, respectively. |
V | |
| NRN004 | 1996/ 01 |
Effectiveness of Novice Driver EducationTo review and critique the results of the NHTSA-funded driver training experimental evaluation known as the "Dekalb" study. |
I | |
| NRN065 | 1996/ 01 |
DUI Educational and Rehabilitation Program Effectiveness-A Review of California ExperienceTo review the California research evidence on the relative effectiveness of Dill treatment programs, and to present an overview for traffic safety practitioners and policymakers in New Mexico. |
IV | |
| NRN086 | 1996/ 01 |
The Relationship Between Age-Related Functional Disability and Road SafetyTo define the relationship between aging and safe driving for use by General Motors and NHTSA in establishing research funding priorities. |
VI | |
| 126B | 1996/ 01 |
Traffic Violation Patterns and AgeTo examine the rates of different violation types as a function of age, and the pattern of violation types within each age group. |
IV | |
| 157 | 1995/ 12 |
Evaluation of Mature Driver Improvement Program Home-StudyCoursesThis report compares the effectiveness of home-study and in-person courses offered underCalifornia's mature driver improvement (MDI) program. The major issue addressed inthe report is whether home-study MDI courses are less effective than in-person courses inreducing fatal/injury crashes and total citations. Two secondary issues are (a) the validityof MDI course completion as an indicator of fatal/injury crash risk and (b) whether MDIcourses themselves reduced fatal/injury crash risk. The study results provide littleevidence that home-study courses are less effective than in-person courses in reducingfatal/injury crashes and total citations, and no evidence that MDI course graduates are atactuarially lower fatal/injury crash risk than are nonparticipants. In addition, the resultsindicate that the MDI program may have reduced the rate of traffic violation citations,but not the rate of fatal/injury crashes, among course graduates. |
I | |
| 158 | 1995/ 09 |
The General Deterrent Impact of California’s 0.08% Blood Alcohol concentration Limit and Administrative Per Se License Suspension LawsThis project evaluated the effects of two new driving-under-the-influence (DUI) laws implemented in California. The first law, effective January 1, 1990, reduced California’s illegal per se limit to 0.08% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and the second, effective July 1, 1990, imposed an administrative per se (APS) pre-conviction license suspension on DUI offenders. Intervention time series analysis was used to evaluate the deterrent impact of these laws on the general population of DUI offenders as measured by the effects on alcohol-related traffic accidents. |
V |