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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 149 | 1995/ 05 |
An Evaluation of California’s Commercial Driver License Drive TestThe federal government requires states which permit third-party testing of commercial drivers to determine whether these tests are equivalent to those given by the state driver licensing authority. To meet this requirement, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) plans to sample commercial driver license (CDL) applicants tested by their employer, retest them at DMV, and compare the fail rates for the employer and DMV tests to determine if they are equivalent in difficulty and reliability. In order to make this determination, it is necessary to estimate the reliability and other psychometric properties of the California DMV CDL test. Without this information, it is not possible to determine whether differences between the DMV and employer test exceed what would be expected from repeat administration of the CDL test by DMV. |
II | |
| 46 | 1974/ 03 |
An Evaluation of California’s “Good Driver” Incentive ProgramTo study the effects of rewards and/ or incentives in the form of one-year license extensions (no testing or visit to field office required) for drivers with one-year-clean prior records. |
II | |
| 68 | 1978/ 12 |
An Evaluation of Alcohol Abuse Treatment as an Alternative to Drivers License Suspension or Revocation (Final Report to the Legislature in Accord with Senate Bill (SB) 38-Gregorio)To assess the traffic safety impact of using the alcohol abuse treatment strategy as an alternative to license suspension or revocation; to assess the impact of treatment program participation or license suspension/ revocation on a driver's life style; to develop guidelines or recommendations concerning the structure of a first-offender program based upon the results of the SB 330 evaluation and knowledge of the state-of-the-art; and to provide guidelines or recommendations concerning future program or evaluation needs. |
III | |
| 14.1 | 1963/ 01 |
An Evaluation of “Plate to Owner” Vs “Plate to Vehicle” Registration MethodsTo determine the advantages and disadvantages of issuing license plates to owners of motor vehicles versus issuing license plates to vehicles. To investigate effects of issuing plates to owners on the public, government, industry, and other groups. |
VII | |
| IM4 | 1981/ 07 |
An Estimate of the Rate at Which Vehicle Values Depreciate for Use in Calculating Vehicle License FeesTo determine how much vehicle license fee (VLF) revenue is lost due to the VLF depreciation structure underestimating the actual retail value of used vehicles. |
VII | |
| 20 | 1967/ 07 |
An Administrative Abstract of the 1964 California Driver Record StudyThe purpose of this abstract is to provide the administrator with a convenient access to the more important findings of the study, written in relatively non-technical language. |
IV | |
| 34.1 | 1970/ 06 |
An Abstract of Traffic Violations by Type, Age, Sex, and Marital StatusTo examine how the distribution of violation types varies with such basic demographic variables as age, sex, and marital status. |
IV | |
| 38.1 | 1971/ 09 |
An Abstract of The Young Driver Follow-up Study: An Evaluation of the Role of Human Factors in the First Four Years of DrivingTo collect biographical and driving-record data in order to provide evidence for evaluating three approaches to reducing the high accident rate among teenagers: (1) raising the licensing age to 18; (2) identifying the "accident prone" driver; and (3) improving driving via formal driving education and training. |
VI | |
| 91.1 | 1984/ 03 |
An Abstract of The Traffic Safety Impact of Driver Improvement Countermeasures Targeting 55-MPH Speed Limit ComplianceThe overall objectives of this study were twofold: (1) to evaluate a speed-oriented home instruction/point reduction incentive program (HI/PRI) and a speed education meeting (SEM) as alternatives to the group educati onal meeting (GEM) for ne gligent operators, and (2) to evaluate the effects of a modified speed compliance HI/PRI program on repeat speed offenders. |
III | |
| 87.1 | 1983/ 08 |
An Abstract of The Traffic Safety Impact of California’s New Drunk Driving Law (AB 541)- An Evaluation of the First Nine Months of ExperienceTo determine if the new drunk driving law (AB 541) had any impact on the incidence of alcoholrelated traffic accidents. |
III |