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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | 1976/ 06 |
Longitudinal Study of California Driver Accident Frequencies I: An Exploratory Multivariate AnalysisTo attempt to develop an optimum accident-prediction system. |
IV | |
| 76.1 | 1981/ 12 |
An Abstract of Design and Evaluation of a Crash Prediction StrategyTo define and validate a method of identifying groups of high-risk drivers which yields a more effective crash prediction model than the Department's negligent-operator (neg-op) point system. |
IV | |
| NRN051 | 1986/ 09 |
Epidemiologic Perspectives on Drunk DrivingTo provide an integrated synthesis of the drunk driving literature from the perspectives of both public health and public safety. |
IV | |
| NRN058 | 1993/ 01 |
The Identification of Multiple Accident Correlates in High Risk Drivers with Specific Emphasis on the Role of Age, Experience & Prior Traffic Violation FrequencyTo summarize the state of current knowledge on multiple risk factors among driver accident correlates. |
IV | |
| NRN060 | 1993/ 01 |
New Technology for an Old Problem: A Report on a Prospective Study to Evaluate a Simulator-Based Approach to Driver LicensingTo develop and present a cooperative strategy and research design for evaluating the use of the Atari Games Corporation (AGC) interactive simulator as an adjunct to traditional driver license road testing. |
IV | |
| NRN061 | 1994/ 01 |
Quantifying the Net Accident Contribution of Convicted DUI Repeaters: Some Methodological Issues and Preliminary FindingsTo quantify the role of convicted DUI offenders as a traffic safety problem. |
IV | |
| 21 | 1965/ 02 |
The Teen-Aged Driver – Report 21To examine the accident and conviction records of teenaged drivers to determine whether or not a change in the licensing age was warranted and whether or not behind-the-wheel driver training was effective in reducing accidents and convictions. |
IV | |
| 183 | 1999/ 07 |
Strategies for Estimating Driver Accident Risk in Relation to California’s Negligent-Operator Point SystemA sample of approximately 140,000 records of licensed California drivers containing information on age, gender, and driving record variables was examined. The goal of this paper was to assess the accuracy of predicting future accident risk using various combinations of demographic and prior driving record variables as predictors in 17 regression models. All of the models were consistent in demonstrating that increased probability of subsequent accident involvement is associated with increased prior citation and prior accident frequencies, being young, and being male. Results from the regression models indicated the following: • Models that use prior total accidents as a predictor variable perform better than models that do not use prior total accidents as predictors. • Models that use prior culpable accidents as a predictor do not perform as well as models that use prior total accidents as a predictor. • A comparison of models in which 17 individual violation types are used as predictors to those in which only total citations is used as a predictor shows only a small advantage of using individual violation types. • Models that use as predictors the demographic variables of age, gender, and license class along with various combinations of citations and accidents perform better than California’s current neg-op system, which uses a weighted combination of countable citations and responsible accidents. It was concluded that if the goal of driver record adjudication systems is to identify and apply sanctions to high-risk drivers in order to intervene before this risk is realized, then the results presented in this report support the current pointcount strategy which attempts to optimize the identification of drivers having a high probability of subsequent accident involvement. |
IV | |
| 186 | 1999/ 12 |
Development of a Conceptual Integrated Traffic Safety Problem Identification DatabaseThe project conceptualized a traffic safety risk management information system and statistical database for improved problem-driver identification, countermeasure development, and resource allocation. The California Department of Motor Vehicle Driver License (DL) and Vehicle Registration (VR) database systems, the California Highway Patrol Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) each provide valuable information on crashes in California for conducting problem identification analyses, developing and evaluating traffic safety programs, and allocating services. The project explored these four primary systems and investigated several additional data sources suggested by the project advisory committee, including the California Department of Transportation Traffic Accident Surveillance and Analysis System, the Department of Health Services Hospital Discharge Database, and the Department of Justice Criminal Justice Information System. Based on a review of the existing systems and inputs from a project advisory committee of representatives of leading national and state traffic safety research interests, the department has decided to develop a prototype ITSPID system that would integrate the DL, VR, SWITRS, and FARS databases. |
IV | |
| 20.3 | 1965/ 04 |
The 1964 California Driver Record Study (Part 3: Drivers by Age, Sex and Area of Residence)The basic purpose of the overall study was threefold: (1) to provide data for operational and budgetary planning, (2) to provide basic descriptive and baseline data on drivers and driving record variables, and (3) to further understanding and knowledge about the nature and causes of traffic accidents. |
IV |