Who Violates Traffic Rules?

Traffic rule violations contribute to crashes including fatal crashes. This paper aims to investigate six different traffic rule violations and identify people who are ‘at-risk’ of committing violations and being involved in crashes. North Carolina crash data from 2010 to 2013 were analyzed. Drivers aged less than 18 years were 3.2 times more likely to exceed speed limits/safe speed for conditions, 2.4 times more likely to drive aggressively/erratically, and 2.7 times more likely to disregard the road and traffic signs compared to drivers aged between 26 to 40 years. Drivers aged over 70 years were 4.3 times more likely to fail to yield the right-of-way compared to drivers aged between 26 to 40 years. Drivers aged between 19 to 25 years were 1.4 times more likely to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs and be involved in crashes. The results suggest that a diverse set of countermeasures may be needed to target drivers by age in order to reduce the number of traffic rule violations and eventually traffic fatalities.