The Impact of Driving Knowledge on Motor Vehicle Fatalities

This paper analyzes the influence of driving knowledge on highway safety by estimating regression models on U.S. state-level data over six years (2005 through 2010). The models incorporate a representative set of motor vehicle fatality determinants. Driving knowledge—as measured by performance on the GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test—has a statistically significant life-saving effect. Negatively related to the motor vehicle death rate and statistically significant are: real per capita income, precipitation, seat belt use, and a linear trend. Statistically significant positive associations with the rate are found for: the ratio of rural to urban driving, temperature, the percentage of young drivers, the percentage of old drivers, and alcohol consumption