Arizona Board of Regents considers funding research of inexperienced drivers

PHOENIX — The Arizona Board of Regents is considering funding a transportation research project that aims to make roads safer for inexperienced drivers.

ABOR’s Governance and Operations Committee approved funding for the project Thursday. The board will conduct a final vote at a future date.

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) applied for the funding from ABOR’s Regents’ Research Grants program, with the goal of acquiring $280,000 for a 21-month study.

ABOR is the governing body of Arizona’s three public universities. If it approves the funding, university researchers would be sent to assist ADOT with the project.

Why does ADOT want to study inexperienced drivers?

ADOT Director Jennifer Toth said more research is needed because of the known correlation between inexperienced drivers and crashes.

“Right now, we know that drivers under the age of 25 are involved in about 18% fatalities and 23% of injury crashes on all public roads in Arizona,” she said before Thursday’s committee vote.

Toth said the project would go beyond issues on the roadways. She said inexperienced drivers may be relying too much on high-tech safety features such as rearview cameras.

“An additional concern that this study is also going to address is related to the potential safety issues that arise with inexperienced drivers’ misuse of becoming dependent on the technology,” she said.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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