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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 229 | 2010/ 04 |
California’s 3‐Tier Pilot Process Analysis AppendixThis report presents the descriptive and predictive analyses of: (i) the results of a survey (n = 130) conducted of California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV) Field Office and Driver Safety Branch staff and managers participating in the 3‐Tier Pilot project; (ii) interviews (n = 49) conducted of CA DMV Field Office and Driver Safety Branch staff and managers participating in the 3‐Tier Pilot; (iii) the results of a survey (n = 5,777) conducted of customers participating in the 3‐Tier Pilot; and (iv) the robustness of the Pelli‐Robson contrast sensitivity chart by location and technician (n = 9,934). These analyses form the primary evidentiary basis for some of the findings and conclusions presented in the 3‐Tier Pilot Process Analysis Report. |
II | |
| 232 | 2010/ 04 |
California’s Three-Tier Driving-Centered Assessment System – Process AnalysisOn September 14, 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 2542 (Daucher) into law, adding Section 1659.9 to the California Vehicle Code, and calling for a pilot study by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV) of the 3-Tier Assessment System. This manuscript (the “process report”) constitutes the first of two reports on the 3-Tier Assessment System. It details the planning and implementation of the pilot, the process outcomes for the 12,346 CA DMV customers who participated in the pilot as well as the 4,853 customers who constituted a baseline comparison group, and the results of the subsequent multi-component process evaluation. The process evaluation includes a description of the costs to implement the pilot, discussion of various threats to the methodological validity of the process and outcome analyses, and an estimation of the potential costs of statewide implementation. An appendix to this report (published separately) contains more detailed analyses associated with four components of the process evaluation: the results of a survey of participating staff, the results of qualitative interviews conducted with participating staff, the results of a survey of pilot customers, and the results of an analysis of customer outcomes on the Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity assessment. |
II | |
| 1 | 1959/ 07 |
California Vehicle Registrations and Drives Licenses – 1946-1958To summarize the Department of Motor Vehicle’s growth in workload since 1946 and to make comparisons with other states and the United States. |
VII | |
| 12 | 1963/ 02 |
California Vehicle Registrations and Driver Licenses – 1946-1961To produce an extension of the 1959 Department of Motor Vehicles report titled "California Vehicle Registrations and Drivers Licenses, 1946-1958" (Research Report No.1) for the years 1959, 1960, and 1961. The report should be useful as a basic set of historical statistical information regarding California vehicle registrations and drivers' licenses. |
VII | |
| NRN001 | 1973/ 12 |
California Driver Training Evaluation Study (Assembly Bill 1486, Veysey)The California Driver Training Evaluation Study was established by Assembly Bill (AB) 1486 (1969 General Session, Veysey) for the purpose of comparing benefits and costs of behind-the-wheel driver training, as given in California high schools by certified high school teachers, with that given by licensed commercial driving school instructors. Additionally, the bill specified a comparison of the standard six-hour training, or its legal simulator-assisted substitute (short training program) with an enriched program providing four extra hours behind-the-wheel (long training program). |
I | |
| 92 | 1984/ 08 |
California Driver Survey: The Habits and Opinions of Drivers on Selected Traffic Safety Related IssuesTo collect information on driving exposure, socioeconomic factors, and attitudes about driving for a random sample of motorists. |
VII | |
| NRN083 | 1993/ 01 |
California DMV’s Driving Under the Influence R&D Program: Some Recent Findings and ActivitiesTo convey information on findings from recent California DMV studies of DUI offenders. |
VI | |
| 114 | 1987/ 12 |
Basic California Traffic Conviction and Accident Record FactsTo provide traffic safety administrators with information for developing program and policy decisions, and to provide information to the insurance industry and to scholars and researchers in traffic safety |
IV | |
| NRN005 | 1974/ 01 |
Audio-Visual Traffic Safety Materials (House Resolution 81, McAllister)To conduct a feasibility study concerning use of audio-visual testing. |
II | |
| 172 | 1997/ 11 |
ASSESSING THE OLDER DRIVER: PILOT STUDIESThe principal objective of this project was to evaluate a selection of tests for their utility in identifying age-impaired drivers in a licensing agency setting and predicting the adequacy of their driving performance on a road test. As part of the project an extensive literature review (Janke, 1994) had already been published. Tests chosen on the basis of that review were piloted in two California sites. At one site, drivers referred for reexamination to the DMV were contrasted, in terms of performance on nondriving tests and two road tests, with volunteers. At the other site all subjects volunteered for the study, and predictions of their road test performance were made on the basis of their performance on nondriving tests. In addition, survey data from licensing authorities and older drivers themselves were collected. Based on study findings, tests or procedures are recommended for a first (brief functional screening), second (more intensive testing) and third (on-road testing) tier of assessment. Implications of the results for further research and policy issues, including graded licensing, are discussed. |
VI |