"First of all we looked at males and females, and then we looked at younger and older individuals because we know from my earlier research, that street racing and extreme speeding is an activity that typically younger males are more likely to engage in," said Vingilis. "What we found was a substantial reduction in the number of convictions for extreme speeding for males, and no change for females because they were pretty low any way. And importantly, we found a significant decrease in the number of motor vehicle casualties of males 16 to 24 -quite a significant reduction."
Vingilis says the study's findings support deterrence theory to the effect that certain, swift and severe sanctions can deter risky driving behaviour.
The research, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), looked at data from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2011. The law came into effect September 30, 2007, enabling the researchers to compare the data before and after implementation. From the time the new law came into force to the end of 2011, more than 24,000 drivers' licences were suspended for violating the new street racing legislation, nearly 8,500 of them in the first year alone.
For the 16 to 24 year old male drivers, 1.21% of licensed drivers had their licences suspended, along with .37 per cent of mature males (aged 25-64). That contrasted with .21 per cent for 16-24 year old female drivers and .07 per cent for 25-64 year old women.
A new Western University study led by Dr. Evelyn Vingilis has found a significant decline in speeding-related fatalities and injuries among young men in Ontario since the province's tough extreme speeding and aggressive driving laws were introduced in 2007. The study found a sustained reduction of about 58 speeding-related injuries and fatalities a month among males aged 16-24. That means about 700 fewer young men have been injured or killed in speeding-related crashes yearly since the law was passed.
(Photo Credit: Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University)
A new Western University study led by Dr. Evelyn Vingilis has found a significant decline in speeding-related fatalities and injuries among young men in Ontario since the province's tough extreme speeding and aggressive driving laws were introduced in 2007. The study found a sustained reduction of about 58 speeding-related injuries and fatalities a month among males aged 16-24. That means about 700 fewer young men have been injured or killed in speeding-related crashes yearly since the law was passed.
(Photo Credit: Paul Mayne, Western News)
Source: University of Western Ontario