TRANSPORT and ROAD RESEARCH LABORATORY. Department of the Environment Department of Transport SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT 722

Transcription

1 TRANSPORT and ROAD RESEARCH LABORATORY Department of the Environment Department of Transport SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT 722 THE AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS ON DRIVING by D Sheppard BA PhD Any views expressed in this Report are not necessarily those of the Department of the Environment or of the Department of Transport Road User Characteristics Division Safety Department Transport and Road Research Laboratory Crowthorne, Berkshire 982 ISSN

2 Ownership of the Transport Research Laboratory was transferred from the Department of Transport to a subsidiary of the Transport Research Foundation on I st April 996. This report has been reproduced by permission of the Controller of HMSO. Extracts from the text may be reproduced, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged.

3 CONTENTS Page Abstract. Introduction 2. Method 3. Results 3. Books on driving 3.2 The Highway Code 4. Conclusions and Discussion 5. Acknowledgements 6. References Appendix: Technical note on sample design and weighting methods used in the NOP Market Research Ltd survey (C) CROWN COPYRIGHT 982 Extracts from the text may be reproduced, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged

4 THE AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS ON DRIVING ABSTRACT Books on driving would seem to be a useful way by which learner drivers or those who have passed their L-test could increase their knowledge about driving. Early in 980, a check made among 9 newsagents and bookshops that sell books on driving or motorcycling showed that the Highway Code was very generally available; the Department of Transport's manual 'Driving' was the most commonly available of the books on driving which go into this in more detail than the Highway Code. An enquiry in June 980 about the use of the Highway Code showed that 45 per cent of 043 drivers had read or referred to it during the previous 2 months, 73 per cent of drivers had a copy of it and 22 per cent of drivers had the latest edition which was published in March INTRODUCTION Books on driving would seem to be a useful way by which those learning to drive can supplement their instruction. They can also be of value in providing detailed information on driving technique for those who have already passed their L-test, since there are few opportunities for drivers to take driving instruction courses leading to a higher standard. Previous TRRL studies have examined the content of books about driving, their readability 2 and the extent to which learners make use of such books 3. The extent to which such books are available at retail outlets has not previously been examined, though this seems likely to affect their use critically. This report describes data on this topic. This information is intended to help organisations concerned with driver training policy to know how readily learner drivers can obtain books, including any they themselves sponsor, and to help practioners to know what advice to give on book purchase. The Highway Code 4 is the main official publication which provides guidance for all road users and is regarded as sufficiently important for candidates to be questioned about their knowledge of this in their L-tests. This report shows how many drivers have a copy of the Highway Code, in particular a recent copy, how often they use it and how this is related to socio-economic and other driver characteristics. 2. METHOD The data on the availability of books on driving or motorcycling were collected early in 980 by people calling at local newsagents, booksellers and other likely retail outlets (including a few driving schools). The areas in which such data were collected were in and around Glasgow, Maidstone, Aylesbury, Cambridge, Colchester, Blackpool and Manchester. The title of each book on driving or riding displayed was noted, together with the numbers displayed of each book. Books included had to be solely about driving or motorcycling or at least contain a substantial amount on that topic.

5 The data on the use of the Highway Code were obtained through a national 'omnibus' survey using a random sample of adults aged 6 or more by NOP Market Research Ltd, carried out in England, Wales and Scotland in June 980. A success rate of 66 per cent was achieved. Details of the sampling method are given in the Appendix. All those who had driven a vehicle during the previous 2 months were asked to say when they had last read the Highway Code or looked up something in it, whether they had a copy available at home or in the car and, if so, which edition it was. As a check on the reliability of the answers on availability, those who said they had a copy were asked to produce it. This procedure made it possible for the interviewers to check which edition the respondents had; those who could not produce a copy were shown coloured photographs of the covers of the present and the three most recent editions, to assist in correct identification. The four covers do, in fact, look very different. 3. RESULTS 3. Books on driving Data about official books and some other commonly available books are given in Table, related to the type of retail outlet. The Highway Code is by far the most common and there were only a very few instances ( per cent) where an out-of-date edition was being displayed (the latest edition was published in March 978, 2 months before the survey began). The numbers available and the high proportion of outlets stocking the Highway Code makes it clear that anyone who wanted to buy this would have no difficulty in locating a copy, while there is of course also some chance of obtaining access to a free copy, since the Highway Code is given to L-drivers with their first provisional licence and also to every child who enters for the National Cycling Proficiency Scheme. TABLE Availability of books on driving Newsagents Bookshops All outlets with book I of books with book of books with book of books Highway Code 969 edition 978 edition Driving 969 edition 972 edition 979 edition Roadcraft - car driving - motor-cycling Learning To Drive In Pictures. T Topper Car Driving In Two Weeks. L Nathan Driving Made Easy. K Jolly Car Driving For Beginners. RAC Other publications on driving/riding of driving books of retail outlets displaying at least one book on driving or on motorcycling Note. There were a few driving schools and AA shops included in the survey and these have been added to the 'bookshops' category.

6 The next most commonly found book was the Department of Transport's manual 'Driving'5, although this was considerably rarer than the Highway Code. It is of course a more expensive publication ( 2.25 versus 25p) and it is meant for drivers or riders only, so that is is not entirely surprising that it is less easy to t'md. It would be considerably easier to find 'Driving' in a bookshop carrying books on driving, than at a newsagent carrying books on driving, perhaps because it costs rather more than the books newsagents usually carry. Out-of-date editions of 'Driving' were relatively much more common than out-of-date editions of the Highway Code: 3 per cent of the copies of 'Driving' available were of the second edition published in December 972 and 6 per cent were of the first edition published in 969 (though all these first editions were in the same shop). Thus it is clear that at that time someone would have been quite likely to purchase an out-of-date edition, unless he was aware there was a more recent one available and it seems unlikely that many people would have realised this for none of these retail outlets had different editions displayed together. In practice, 'Driving' has not altered very greatly from one edition to another, but it could be argued that it isas much of a disadvantage to buy an out-of-date version of 'Driving' as an out-of-date Highway Code, for in both cases over seven years have elapsed between the date when the present edition was first published and the date when the one prior to it was first issued. The other 'official' book is the police manual 'Roadcraft'. The car drivers' version of this 6 was first published in 960, before 'Driving' came out, and a special version of 'Roadcraft' for motorcyclists 7 was first published in 965. The data show that the car drivers' version of 'Roadcraft' is available quite widely (about half as many stockists as for 'Driving'), while the motorcyclists' version of 'Roadcraft' was displayed at about two-thirds of the number of outlets displaying the car drivers' 'Roadcraft'. The 97 survey among learner car drivers 3 had shown that 'Roadcraft' was only rarely read by comparison with 'Driving' (3 per cent as compared with 3 per cent), so it may be that availability partly determined that; though of course the fact that 'Driving' is more commonly recommended by instructors 3 or perhaps knowledge that 'Driving' is produced by the Government Department responsible for L-tests, could well be contributory causes, too. 'Roadcraft' is currently cheaper than 'Driving' ( 0.95 and 2.25 respectively). 'Driving' and the car drivers' version of 'Roadcraft' cover rather similar ground, in rather different ways, though 'Roadcraft' might be regarded as being primarily for experienced drivers. The practice advocated in 'Roadcraft' of going out towards the centre of the road on the approach to a left-hand bend, might even be marked adversely in the L-test if such behaviour was practised by an L-driver. The motorcycling version of'roadcraft' is at present the only 'official' text on motorcycling available. The 'Right-Way' paperback 'Learning To Drive In Pictures '8, was slightly more widely available than the official police manuals, though rather less common than 'Driving'. In the 97 survey among L-drivers, this book was read by fewer people than 'Driving' but was more likely to be read right through. It is of course cheaper (75p) and shorter and it may be that a method of presentation involving pictures makes it particularly appealing. The other 'Right-Way' paperback book listed in Table, 'Car Driving In Two Weeks '9, is slightly less widely available: of these two, it was in fact the more commonly read by L-drivers in the 97 survey, though rather less likely than the other to be read all through. It is also a relatively cheap publication (75p), it is quite short and though it does not rely so completely on pictures, the Flesch readability test showed it as 'fairly easy to read'. In 97, more drivers read 'Driving' than 'Car Driving In Two Weeks', despite the fact that the latter was published 7 years before 'Driving' and was in that sense well-established.

7 A relatively new publication in the field is the book by Dr Jolly:'Driving Made Easy '. This was published in a hard-back version in 978 and as a paperback in 979. The number of these available was only slightly less than the number for 'Car Driving In Two Weeks' and it was available at as many retail outlets. Dr Jolly's book was not available when the earlier L-driver readership study was done in 97, so no data exist on the extent to which L-drivers read this. The RAC book 'Car Driving For Beginners' 2 is the next most widely available of these books for car drivers. This has been available for some time and in 97 this book was the third most commonly read by L-drivers. It may be distributed more extensively through driving schools than other books since many driving instructors are RAC-registered and the 97 survey showed that this book was commonly recommended by instructors. This enquiry shows that it is rather more likely to be displayed in a bookshop which sells books on driving than by a newsagent that sells books on driving. It is of course possible that these data on availability do not completely reflect the situation in 97, so that comparisons between the two surveys can only be tentative. The titles of eight other books which were widely available are given in Table 2. As with Dr JoUy's book, data on the use made of these were not available from the 97 readership survey. Some have only been published recently. The number of copies of the AA book available is in fact slightly larger than for the RAC's book listed in Table. TABLE 2 Other widely available books on riding and driving Newsagents Bookshops All outlets with books of books with books of books with ~ of books books AA Book On Driving. Learning To Drive. A J Smith. RAC Learner Drivers' Guide. H Jones. Very Advanced Driving. T Topper. Know Your Traffic Signs. Department of the Environment. Highway Code Questions And Answers. J Humphries. IAM Motorcycling. I Webb. Expert Driving The Police Way. J Miles. Car Driving For Beginners. G Carless of retail outlets displaying at least one book on driving or motorcycling The Department of the Environment's book 'Know Your Traffic Signs' came out quite a long time ago (975) and the latest Highway Code covers much of the same information. Forty-five different books on driving or motor cycling were located altogether. It is of interest that despite the current popularity of motorcycling, books on this theme were relatively uncommon: only the motorcycling version of 'Roadcraft' and the Institute of Advanced 4

8 Motorists' book 'Motorcycling' by Webb were at all commonly available. However, even with an increased interest in motorcycling, the potential number of car driver readers still remains very much greater. 3.2 The Highway Code Table 3 shows the distribution of drivers' replies when asked when they last read the Highway Code or looked up something in it. It can be seen that only 4 per cent had read or looked up something in it within the last week, but 30 per cent had done so during the last six months and 45 per cent had done so during the last year. This would seem to be quite a high rate of use. The L-driver period is sometimes mentioned as the time when the driver last read or referred to the Highway Code. TABLE 3 Drivers' replies when asked when they last read the Highway Code or looked up something in it Today/yesterday/within last week week to 3 months ago/'recently' 3 to 6 months ago 7 months to year ago 3 months to 3 years ago 37 months to 5 years ago 6 years to 0 years ago 0 years ago or more When I took test/was learning to drive 'Years ago'/'a long time ago' Other replies Don't know of drivers Per cent of 043 drivers Total replies Total of drivers 043 Note: The total of percentages comes to more than 00 because some drivers gave more than one reply. Most drivers specified a time period and 885 did so fairy precisely; it is of interest to consider some driving and socio-economic characteristics of these drivers in relation to how recently they had read the Code. Table 4 shows some results of this kind. It can be seen that men drivers are more likely than women drivers to have read or looked up something in the Highway Code recently; this difference is statistically significant when those who had read it in the previous 2 months are compared with those who had read it less recently. Other comparisons were made, based on 2 by 2 chi-squared tests, grouping those who read it up to a year ago and comparing them with those who read it less recently, and where there are three driver-characteristic categories, grouping the two with the smallest numbers of drivers together. On this basis, drivers of all ages were equally likely to report that they have read it recently, despite younger drivers having learnt to drive and taken L-tests, including Highway Code questions, more recently. There is little relationship with social class. There is a statistically significant relationship with education level, based on the age when the driver ceased full-time education; those who completed their education earlier were more likely to have read it recently. This trend seems surprising, particularly since the

9 - during - over 97 survey had shown that, among the younger group of L-drivers, having a longer education was the best predictor of readership of driving books. The present survey shows no systematic relationship between miles driven and recency of reading the Highway Code, though it might perhaps have been expected that those who drive more miles in a year would be more likely to read or refer to it recently than would other drivers. Data on the location of the driver's home are not included in the table; no relationship was found between this and how recently drivers had read the Code. TABLE 4 Use of the Highway Code related to characteristics of drivers Men drivers Women drivers Drivers aged 34 or less Drivers aged Drivers aged 55 or more Social class AB Social class C, C2 Social class DE Completed education at 5 or less Completed education at 6 Completed education when over 6 Drove 3000 miles or less in last year Drove ,000 miles in last year Drove over 0,000 miles in last year Notes. last six months Per cc I I 36 Read Highway Code or looked up something in it: - 7 months to year ago year ag tn timeall citingperioda?e ~ Per cent w The totals of drivers are not always identical when groups are compared, for information on some characteristics was more fully recorded. 2. Percentages across the rows do not always add to 00 because of rounding When each driver was asked if there was a copy of the Highway Code at home or in the car, 73 per cent of the 043 drivers said they had a copy. A smal! number (53) had more than one copy. Of those 764 drivers with at least one copy, 23 drivers had the latest (~ 978) edition as the first one they mentioned, while 23 had the latest edition as the second one they mentioned. So it is relatively unusual for drivers to have the most recent edition. Table 5 shows the number of cases where the data were subject to an objective check by an interviewer, and how often the interviewer had to rely on the respondent's report that he had a copy of the Highway Code and what edition this was. The data indicating how many Highway Codes were actually found are of particular interest since they provide some indication of the minimum number who really could locate a copy and therefore genuinely could refer to it. Though it was relatively unusual for a driver to be able to fred it, doubtless more could have located a copy if they had had more time to look for it. 6

10 TABLE 5 Copies of the Highway Code available and the editions recognised or located Is there a copy of the Yes Highway Code in your home No or in your car? Don't know 42 4 Totals Looked for Code, found it Looked for Code, did not fred it Would not look, because did not know where Would not look for other reason Don't know Per cent of Per cent of all drivers all drivers (043) (043) First copy mentioned Second copy mentioned Totals Copy found was 954 edition Copy found was 959 edition Copy found was 969 edition Copy found was 978 edition Another edition Edition not recorded Totals Copy not found, recognised as 954 edition Copy not found, recognised as 959 edition Copy not found, recognised as 969 edition Copy not found, recognised as 978 edition Respondent did not recognise covers shown Don't know Totals * Indicates less than 0.5 per cent A pilot survey carried out some years previously had indicated that some drivers kept a copy of the Highway Code in the car. This occurred only rarely in this survey and most drivers reported that they kept a copy of the Highway Code in the house (usually in a bedroom drawer, a desk or a bookshelf) while only 8 per cent kept it in the car (data for the first copy mentioned). In some ways, keeping it in the car seems an odd thing to do, though the latest edition of 'Roadcraft' in fact states 'this should be in every vehicle owner's glove compartment'. As would be expected from the data on referring to the Highway Code, possession of one is not closely associated with most socio-economic characteristics or with mileage driven. Men and women drivers seem equally likely to possess one and the only definite trend was for younger drivers to be slightly more likely to have a copy.

11 4. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION One motive for this enquiry was to assess whether the 97 findings about L-drivers' readership patterns might have been partly due to certain driving books being particularly easy to obtain. This study suggests that availability is an important influence, though status, price, length and recommendations no doubt matter too. The extent to which particular books are available is of interest in itself. It is apparent from these enquiries that Department of Transport literature on driving is commonly displayed in bookshops or newsagents which carry anything on this general topic. The Highway Code is very common and 'Driving' is displayed in about half these outlets. Where the Highway Code was displayed, it was very rare for this to be an out-of-date edition, though this was more common with 'Driving', partly no doubt because the new edition of 'Driving' had only been out for a few months, whereas the new edition of the Highway Code had been out for a year longer. The police manuals, an AA book and a few paperback books on driving are easy to find, too. Forty-five different texts on driving or riding were found. It has also been shown that drivers quite frequently refer to the Highway Code, 73 per cent possess a copy and about one-third of those who have it, have the most recent edition. The extent to which texts other than the Highway Code are used, or the extent to which any of them are found to be useful, was not examined on this occasion. The extent to which drivers can learn from the Highway Code can be inferred from the results of tests. Thus in a survey of driving test results in October 979, only.2 per cent of some 4,000 Group A licence candidates had faults related to lack of knowledge of the Highway Code 3, while in a recent enquiry among 265 motorcyclists who were at the end of their RAC/ACU training, a high proportion selected the correct Highway Code answer from three alternatives*. However, the 97 study by TRRL showed that those who read driving texts that are longer than the Highway Code before their L-tests did not perform better than others in terms of pass-rate, though this was partly because those with less aptitude for learning to drive are more likely to read such books. It may also be relevant that some driving books do not score well on readability tests 2, though as against this the advice given in the books is generally sound and would be expected to be helpful. 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work described in this Report was carried out in the Road User Characteristics Division of the Safety Department of TRRL. The writer wishes to acknowledge the help given to him by NOP Market Research Ltd. for collecting and analysing the data related to the Highway Code and the work done by those who collected and analysed the data on the availability of books at retail outlets. * These data were obtained from administration of four 50-question tests. For each question the trainee had to select the correct answer from three alternatives. On average, 76 per cent of trainees were able to do this per question. 8

12 6. REFERENCES SHEPPARD, D and T E WINTER. A content analysis of five books on driving. Department of the Environ mentdepartment of Transport, TRRL Report SR294. Crowthome, 977 (Transport and Road Research Laboratory).. SHEPPARD, D and C HARRISON. Readability of road safety pubhcations. Department of the Environment Department of Transport, TRRL Report LR 944. Crowthorne, 980 (Transport and Road Research Laboratory). 3. COX, J M and A J DOWNING. Learner drivers and the driving books they read. Department of the Environment, TRRL Report SR 29 UC. Crowthome, 976 (Transport and Road Research Laboratory). 4. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT. The Highway Code. London, 978 (H M Stationery Office). 5. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT. Driving. London, 979.3rd edition (H M Stationery Office). 6. METROPOLITAN POLICE DRIVING SCHOOL. Roadcraft. London, rd edition (H M Stationery Office). 7. HOME OFFICE. Motorcycle Roadcraft. London, rd edition (H M Stationery Office). 8. TOPPER, A T. Learning To Drive In Pictures. Kingswood 979.7th edition (Elliot Right Way Books). 9. NATHAN, L. Car Driving In Two Weeks. Kingswood 98.26th edition (Elliot Right Way Books). 0. FLESCH, R. How To Test Readability. New York, 95. Harper.. JOLLY, K A. Driving Made Easy. London, 979 (Penguin Books). 2. THE ASSOCIATION OF RAC REGISTERED MOTOR SCHOOLS AND DRIVING INSTRUCTORS. Car Driving For Beginners. London, th edition (Educational Productions Ltd). 3. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT. Transport Statistics. Great Britain London, 980. (H M Stationery Office).

13 7. APPENDIX Technical note on sample design and weighting methods used in the N0P Market Research Ltd survey The sample used was a two-stage, stratified random sample, electors' names being drawn at random from the Electoral Register (with the addition of non-electors aged 5 and over, chosen by a systematic method). THE SAMPLE DESIGN. Constituencies 62 parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain were classified into the Registrar General's ten new Standard Regions. Within each Standard Region constituencies were classified into four types: i) Metropolitan County iii) Mixed Urban/Rural ii) Other 00% Urban iv) Rural Within the resultant cells, constituencies were listed according to the ratio of Conservative to Labour votes at the 979 General Election. A systematic sample of 80 constituencies was then taken with probability of selection proportional to the size of the electorate in each constituency. 2. Electors i) GLC Area Constituencies: From each of the 23 constituencies within the GLC area, twenty names were selected. ii) All Other Constituencies: From each of the remaining 57 constituencies, eighteen names were selected. Within each constituency a random elector was selected, who became the first elector of a cluster. To form a cluster every fifteenth elector was selected, following the first randomly selected elector, until the required number of electors had been reached. The sample comprised, therefore, 3286 named electors drawn from the Electoral Register of the selected constituencies. Interviewers were instructed to call and recall on these named electors, in order to obtain interviews with as high a proportion as possible. No substitutes were taken. 3. Non-Electors A sample of non-electors aged 5 and over was also interviewed. At the household of each selected elector, each interviewer inquired whether there were any non-electors aged 5 and over in the household. If there was one, he or she was interviewed (in addition to the elector). If there was more than one such non-elector, the interviewer listed their names alphabetically by surname and then by first name and selected one at random using a Kish selection grid. Thus one interview with a non-elector aged 5 and over was attempted at each household where they occurred. No substitutes were taken. Recalls were made to secure interviews with the selected non-electors. WEIGHTING METHODS. Non-Electors - The sample of non-electors interviewed was given the following weight: No. of Non-Electors in Household No. of Names on Register Leading to that Household 2. In addition, interlaced cellular weights for 84 cells were applied derived from interlocking the following demographic characteristics: Male/Female 5-24/Rest AB/C/C2DE London/South East and Anglia/South West and Wales/East and West Midlands/North West/North and Yorkshire and Humberside/Scotland SUCCESS RATE An overall success rate of 66 per cent was achieved (excluding electors who had died or moved away at the time of the survey). " (5) Dd804307,200 8/82 HPLtdSo'lon G95 PRINTED N ENGLAND

14 ABSTRACT THE AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS ON DRIVING: D Sheppard BA PhD: Department of the Environment Department of Transport, TRRL Supplementary Report 722: Crowthorne, 982 (Transport and Road Research Laboratory). Books on driving would seem to be a useful way by which learner drivers or those who have passed their L-test could increase their knowledge about driving. Early in 980, a check made among 9 newsagents and bookshops that sell books on driving or motorcycling showed that the Highway Code was very generally available; the Department of Transport's manual 'Driving' was the most commonly available of the books on driving which go into this in more detail than the Highway Code. An enquiry in June 980 about the use of the Highway Code showed that 45 per cent of 043 drivers had read or referred to it during the previous 2 months, 73 per cent of drivers had a copy of it and 22 per cent of drivers had the latest edition which was published in March 978. ISSN ABSTRACT THE AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS ON DRIVING: D Sheppard BA PhD: Department of the Environment Department of Transport, TRRL Supplementary Report 722: Crowthorne, 982 (Transport and Road Research Laboratory). Books on driving would seem to be a useful way by which learner drivers or those who have passed their L-test could increase their knowledge about driving. Early in 980, a check made among 9 newsagents and bookshops that sell books on driving or motorcycling showed that the Highway Code was very generally available; the Department of Transport's manual 'Driving' was the most commonly available of the books on driving which go into this in more detail than the Highway Code. An enquiry in June 980 about the use of the Highway Code showed that 45 per cent of 043 drivers had read or referred to it during the previous 2 months, 73 per cent of drivers had a copy of it and 22 per cent of drivers had the latest edition which was published in March 978. ISSN