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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 215 | 2005/ 09 |
Clearing A Road To Driving Fitness By Better Assessing Driving Wellness:California’s Three-Tier Driving-Centered Assessment System – SummaryReportThis report describes the final development and validation of an integrated three-tier system for assessing drivers’ degrees of driving wellness (degree of freedom from driving-relevant functional limitations) and driving fitness (degree to which a driver compensates for any such limitations while actually driving). Both driving wellness and driving fitness are assessed in a driving-centered manner. Assessment tools recommended for use in each tier are described, as is the selection of two decision points (cutpoints) which separate drivers into three categories: pass ("driving-well"), "somewhat functionally limited", and "extremely functionally limited." Compared to elder renewal license applicants who were assessed as somewhat functionally limited, elder renewals assessed as extremely functionally limited were more likely to fail a structured road test, but less likely to have been crash involved in the last three years. Reasons for this apparent paradox, in which more functionally limited drivers have fewer crashes, are addressed in the report. The report describes in detail the flow of renewal license applicants through the three-tier assessment system and makes numerous recommendations, including that the three-tier assessment system be adopted on a pilot basis for further evaluation. |
II | |
| 216 | 2009/ 10 |
Clearing A Road to Being Driving Fit by Better Assessing Driving Wellness – Development of California’s Prospective Three-Tier Driving-Centered Assessment System (Technical Report)This report has two main purposes: (1) describe the development of California’s prospective 3-Tier driving-centered assessment system, and (2) present an “ecological perspective” on driver licensing. Driving-centered is an ecological concept—it means taking into consideration when, where, why, and how individual drivers customarily drive. Rather than an endpoint in delicensing drivers assessed as unsafe, 3-Tier fundamentally alters the purpose of assessment to be a starting point, if feasible, for extending the safe driving years of functionally-limited licensed drivers. The 3-Tier system integrates new assessment tools into those currently used by the Department of Motor Vehicles. All renewal applicants required to pass the department’s knowledge test are assessed on Tier 1, and those who are found to have a driving-relevant visual, mental, or physical limitation(s) are further screened on Tier 2. Based on these assessments, drivers are classified as driving well, somewhat functionally limited or extremely functionally limited; the extremely functionally-limited drivers are required to pass a Tier 3 road test to be licensed. The results of a small scale pilot study upon which the 3-Tier system was developed showed that somewhat-limited drivers, perhaps because they were less aware of their limitations, were more likely to be crash involved than extremely-limited drivers, who were probably more aware of their limitation(s) and compensated accordingly. In contrast, extremely-limited drivers were more likely to fail an office-based road test. The report concludes with 22 recommendations for statewide implementation of 3-Tier, including recommendations that the department’s R&D branch evaluate the reliability and validity of the current area drive test, and if needed, develop a better one, that this test be available to extremely limited drivers as an option for their Tier 3 road test requirement, and that the department educate somewhat-limited drivers about compensating for their limitation(s). |
II | |
| 217 | 2005/ 09 |
AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF IGNITION INTERLOCK IN CALIFORNIAThis study is one of two studies of ignition interlock in California mandated by the California Legislature (AB 762). The first study, published in 2002, was a process evaluation that examined the degree to which ignition interlock has been implemented in California. This current study is an outcome evaluation that examines the effectiveness of ignition interlock in reducing alcohol-related crashes and convictions, and crashes overall (alcohol and nonalcohol). The results of the study show that interlock works for some offenders in some contexts, but not for all offenders in all situations. More specifically, ignition interlock devices work best when they are installed, although there is also some evidence that judicial orders to install an interlock are effective for repeat DUI offenders, even when not all offenders comply and install a device. California’s administrative program, where repeat DUI offenders install an interlock device in order to obtain restricted driving privileges, is also associated with reductions in subsequent DUI incidents. One group for whom ignition interlock orders do not appear effective is first DUI offenders with high blood alcohol levels. |
V | |
| 218 | 2005/ 11 |
Development of a Driver License Application Management Information System Stage IIThis project involved creating a prototype off-line driver license (DL) application management information system (MIS) that captured and stored extensive information on the driver license application process. From this prototype database, example reports were generated to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a fully functional off-line DL application MIS that would be able to provide descriptive measures and statistical data related to the driver licensing process. In the event that Department of Motor Vehicles’ management decides to proceed with the creation of the proposed database, funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety would be requested for the next stage, Stage III, of the project. The implementation schedule for Stage III is provided in this report. Specifically, Stage III will involve addressing and correcting problems with the application transaction source data that were identified in this report and constructing a fully functional DL application MIS. |
IV | |
| 220 | 2006/ 01 |
2006 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA DUI MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMIn this fifteenth annual legislatively mandated report, 2003 and 2004 DUI data from diverse sources were compiled and cross-referenced for the purpose of developing a single comprehensive DUI data reference and monitoring system. This report presents crosstabulated information on DUI arrests, convictions, court sanctions, administrative actions and alcohol-involved crashes. In addition, this report provides 1-year proportions of DUI recidivism and crash rates for first and second DUI offenders arrested in each year over a time period of fourteen years. Also, the long- term recidivism curves of the cumulative proportions of DUI reoffenses are shown for all DUI offenders arrested in 1994. Analyses were conducted on the effectiveness of alcohol education programs upon the 1-year postconviction records of those convicted of the reduced charge of alcohol-related reckless driving, and on the effectiveness of the 3-month versus 6-month alcohol education programs on the 1-year postconviction records of first offenders. Two additional subanalyses were conducted to determine if differences on the outcome measures were related to BAC level (below .20 and .20 and above). The proportions of 2003 convicted first and second offenders who completed their alcohol education/treatment program requirement are also presented. |
V | |
| 221 | 2006/ 12 |
Evaluation of the Class C Driver License Written Knowledge TestsThis report represents the results of an evaluation of English and Spanish language written knowledge tests that were administered to applicants for an original or renewal Class C driver license. The report presents test fail rates for multiple attempts, mean error scores, and internal consistency validity for each test form, as well as the pass rate, item‐choice selection rates, and item‐total correlation for each item on each English test form. Items that need to be reviewed for possible rewording or replacement are identified. The results are based on 11,307 completed test forms collected from all California Department of Motor Vehicle field offices on August 4, 2005, or for a few offices on a subsequent Thursday. |
II | |
| 222 | 2007/ 01 |
2007 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA DUI MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMIn this sixteenth annual legislatively-mandated report, 2004 and 2005 DUI data from diverse sources were compiled and cross-referenced for the purpose of developing a single comprehensive DUI data reference and monitoring system. This report presents crosstabulated information on DUI arrests, convictions, court sanctions, administrative actions and alcohol-involved crashes. In addition, this report provides 1-year proportions of DUI recidivism and crash rates for first and second DUI offenders arrested in each year over a time period of fifteen years. Also, the long-term recidivism curves of the cumulative proportions of DUI reoffenses are shown for all DUI offenders arrested in 1994. Analyses were conducted on the effectiveness of alcohol education programs upon the 1-year postconviction records of those convicted of the reduced charge of alcohol-related reckless driving, and on the effectiveness of the 3-month versus 6-month alcohol education programs on the 1-year postconviction records of first offenders. Two additional subanalyses were conducted to determine if differences on the outcome measures were related to BAC level (below .20 and .20 and above). The proportions of 2004 convicted first and second offenders who completed their alcohol education/treatment program requirement are also presented. |
V | |
| 223 | 2007/ 04 |
A Traffic Safety Evaluation of California’s Traffic Violator School Citation Dismissal PolicyThis study applied methodological refinements to the 1991 departmental evaluation of the traffic violator school (TVS) citation dismissal policy. This study identified and compared two large samples of drivers either completing a TVS (N = 210,015) or convicted of a traffic citation (N = 168,563). Prior to adjudication, the TVS group had characteristics (e.g., lower prior conviction rate and smaller proportion of males) that were predictive of a lower subsequent crash risk. However, the TVS group exhibited significantly more crashes than did the convicted group in the subsequent one-year period. The difference (4.83%) increased to 10% after adjusting for the more favorable characteristics of the TVS group. The TVS group also had a higher adjusted subsequent crash rate at each prior driver record entry level, reflecting a loss in the general and specific deterrence of the non-conviction masked status of TVS dismissed citations. It was also demonstrated that approximately 15,000 Negligent Operator Treatment System (NOTS) Level 3 (probation/suspension hearings) and 6,000 NOTS Level 4 (probation violator sanctions) interventions are circumvented annually because of TVS dismissals. The demonstrated effectiveness of the NOTS interventions in reducing crash risk of treated drivers assists in explaining why the driving public is exposed to an increased crash risk as a result of their avoidance. A number of recommendations are offered to reduce the negative traffic safety impact of the TVS citation dismissal policy. |
III | |
| 224 | 2008/ 01 |
2008 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA DUI MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMIn this seventeenth annual legislatively-mandated report, 2005 and 2006 DUI data from diverse sources were compiled and cross-referenced for the purpose of developing a single comprehensive DUI data reference and monitoring system. This report presents cross tabulated information on DUI arrests, convictions, court sanctions, administrative actions and alcohol-involved crashes. In addition, this report provides 1-year proportions of DUI recidivism and crash rates for first and second DUI offenders arrested in each year over a time period of sixteen years. Also, the longterm recidivism curves of the cumulative proportions of DUI reoffenses are shown for all DUI offenders arrested in 1994. Analyses were conducted on the effectiveness of alcohol education programs upon the 1-year postconviction records of those convicted of the reduced charge of alcohol-related reckless driving, and on the effectiveness of the 3-month versus 6-month alcohol education programs on the 1-year postconviction records of first offenders. Two additional subanalyses were conducted to determine if differences on the outcome measures were related to BAC level (below 0.20% and 0.20% and above). The proportions of 2005 convicted first and second offenders who were referred to alcohol education/treatment programs are also presented. |
V | |
| 225 | 2008/ 03 |
Statewide Evaluation of Commercial Drivers License Written Knowledge TestsThis report presents the results of an evaluation of the written knowledge tests administered to applicants for a commercial driver license or endorsement. The report presents the fail rate, mean number of errors, and internal‐consistency reliability coefficient for each test form, as well as the pass rate, item‐choice selection rates, and item‐total correlation for each test question on each test form. Items that need to be reviewed for possible rewording or replacement are identified. Additional recommendations for improving the testing process are also provided. The results are based on 8,576 test sheets completed in all California Department of Motor Vehicle field offices from November 27, 2007 to December 31, 2007. |
II |