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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 1971/ 03 |
Modifying Negligent Driving Behavior: Evaluation of Selected Driver Improvement TechniquesTo compare and evaluate eight different methods of dealing with negligent drivers. |
III | |
| 30 | 1969/ 08 |
Modifying Negligent Driving Behavior Through Warning LettersTo investigate the relative impact of various types of warning letters on the subsequent driving record of negligent drivers. Levels of threat and intimacy were manipulated. |
III | |
| 13 | 1963/ 03 |
Migration to CaliforniaThrough a survey, to describe the origin, county of California residence, age, and sex composition of 31,358 households registering out-of-state vehicles in California. |
VII | |
| 67 | 1978/ 09 |
Medically Impaired Drivers: An Evaluation of California Policy (Senate Bill 2033 – Garcia)To evaluate the Department's licensing policies and practices relative to drivers with mental or physical conditions which might affect their ability to drive safely. |
VI | |
| 190 | 2001/ 05 |
Medical Conditions and Other Factors in Driver RiskThis report addresses the effects of medical conditions and medications on the ability to operate a motor vehicle safely. It presents crash rates and crash odds ratios for broadly defined groups of drivers known to the Department of Motor Vehicles as having physical or mental conditions that potentially impair driving. It also reviews the scientific literature dealing with medical conditions and driving. Finally, the report briefly discusses a tiered assessment system under study by the department that holds promise for identifying and evaluating medically impaired drivers. |
IV | |
| NRN047 | 1972/ 11 |
Measuring Attitudinal Response to Several Types of Driver Improvement TechniquesTo develop a quantified evaluation system for measuring subject-oriented psychological differences in response to treatment techniques. |
IV | |
| NRN076 | 1986/ 11 |
Mature Driver Core Curriculum Project Literature ReviewTo review the technical literature on the driving performance of elderly people, as an aid to setting up the curriculum for California's Mature Driver Improvement Program. |
VI | |
| NRN052 | 1986/ 09 |
Marijuana and Alcohol: A Driver Performance StudyTo determine the effects of marijuana, and marijuana in combination with alcohol, on driving performance. |
IV | |
| 55 | 1976/ 06 |
Longitudinal Study of California Driver Accident Frequencies I: An Exploratory Multivariate AnalysisTo attempt to develop an optimum accident-prediction system. |
IV | |
| 106 | 1986/ 05 |
Licensing Novice Motorcyclists: A Comparison of the Traffic Safety Impact of California’s Standard Test and the MOST II (Motorcycle Operator Skill Test) Administered at Centralized Testing OfficesTo clarify issues raised in the Anderson et al. study, "Improved Motorcyclist Licensing and Testing Project," to answer the following two questions: 1) Would the MOST II reduce accidents and convictions when compared to California's standard skill test? 2) Would there be an accident reduction which was independent of the reduction in instruction permit and license issuance rates resulting from the inconvenience of being required to travel to another location to be tested? |
II |