Research Studies & Reports
DMV’s Research & Development Branch has been conducting research and producing studies and reports since the 1950s. Research & Development reports help DMV to measure the impact of new laws on making drivers safer. We also identify areas where we can improve our processes, explore new approaches to solving existing problems, and branch out into new opportunities to serve you better.
Studies & Reports Sections
Studies and reports are assigned to a Section that best describes the type of report. Click on a section title below to see a short description.
I. Driver Education & Training Studies
II. Driver Licensing Screening Studies
III. Studies on Improvement and Control of Deviant Drivers
IV. Basic Research & Methodological Studies: Driver Performance, Accident Etiology, Prediction Models, and Actuarial Applications
V. Driver Licensing / Control Systems & Safety Management Studies
VI. Studies on Special Driver Populations
VII. Miscellaneous Studies & Reports
Request printed copies of studies and reports by mail at:
Department of Motor Vehicles
Research and Development Branch
2415 1st Ave. Mail Station: F-126
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 914-8125
Please include the report number, the number of copies requested, and your name, address, and phone number.
| Report ID | Date Published | Title | Section | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1965/ 01 |
A Re-Evaluation of Group Driver Improvement MeetingsThe group approach originally evaluated in 1961 (Coppin, Report #9) was re-evaluated to determine if the program was still effective. Both studies utilized a control group for comparison, although assignment to treatment was not random. Both reports indicated that the approach was an effective means of reducing violations, but there was no evidence of reduced accident frequency. It was recommended that different types of group and individual approaches be tried so that an optimum approach could be developed. It was also recommended that classical experimental design procedures be used in subsequent evaluations, including randomization. |
III | |
| NRN021 | 1979/ 12 |
A Review of C. D. Robinson’s “The Operation of Drivers License Disqualification as a Sanction”To prepare for the journal of Accident Analysis and Prevention a critical analysis and. review of an Australian monograph on the effectiveness of license suspensions. |
III | |
| 84 | 1982/ 06 |
A Statistical Model of Individual Accident Risk Prediction Using Driver Record, Territory and Other Biographical FactorsTo determine (1) the relative importance of territory, prior driving record, and other variables in predicting future accident involvement; and (2) whether a driver's area of residence is a fair and actuarially sound rating factor. |
IV | |
| NRN091 | 1984/ 07 |
A Study of Alternative Strategies for Assessing Fees on Commercially Registered VehiclesThis study was initiated by the Division of Registration and Investigative Services. The scope of the study was subsequently broadened to meet the requirements of Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 11 of the 1983 legislative session. The final report for this study was submitted in July 1984. The objectives of this study were to: 1. develop a schedule for assessing weight fees on commercially registered power vehicles (6,500 or more pounds unladen) and trailers, based on declared laden or gross weight (GVW) of individual power vehicles and trailers (this schedule would replace the current unladen weight fee table; registration and vehicle license fees would continue to be collected); 2. develop a fee-assessment system for commercially registered power vehicles (6,500 or more pounds unladen) and trailers, based on the declared combined gross weight (CGW) of power vehicles (CGW would be declared for only power units and would include the total weight of the power unit, all trailing vehicles, if any, and all loads) and charging only a standard fee on each trailer (the CGW fee assessed on power vehicles and the trailer fee would replace the registration, vehicle license, and unladen weight fees currently collected on power vehicles and trailers); and 3. estimate the total 1985 revenue loss under a CGW fee schedule that would allow fees remaining on deleted interstate power vehicles to be credited toward fees due on their power vehicle replacements, and produce an adjusted CGW fee schedule that would recoup this revenue loss. |
VII | |
| 4 | 1960/ 02 |
A Study of Information Requests ServicesTo determine areas of organization policy and procedure, relating to the registration of vehicles and such information as is contained on an application for a drivers license, where improvements are applicable and recommend corrective action. |
VII | |
| 7 | 1960/ 10 |
A Study of Mechanization of Operations – Drivers License Information Request ServicesTo study, at the request of Mr. Fred P. Williams, Chief, Division of Drivers Licenses, the systems applicable to the mechanization of the sorting and billing operations in the Department of Motor Vehicle’s Information Request Unit. |
VII | |
| 6 | 1960/ 08 |
A Study of Parking DMV Headquarters Area 1963-1970-1980To study and report on the parking and traffic schemes of the Department of Motor Vehicles Headquarters Building in Sacramento, in response to the City of Sacramento Inter-Governmental Committee (Councilman Philip Mering, chairman). |
VII | |
| NRN019 | 1977/ 02 |
A Study on the Feasibility of Placing Selected Negligent Operators on Probation by MailTo estimate the potential cost savings if negligent operators had the option of waiving the hearing process and accepting probationary status by mail. |
III | |
| 123 | 1989/ 12 |
A Time Series Evaluation of the General Deterrent Effects of California’s 1982 DUI Legislative Reforms (Volume 2 of “Development of a DUI Recidivism Tracking System”)To evaluate the effect of a series of 1982 DUI legislative reforms in deterring drunk driving, as measured by the impact on alcohol-related fatal or injury accident rates. |
III | |
| 223 | 2007/ 04 |
A Traffic Safety Evaluation of California’s Traffic Violator School Citation Dismissal PolicyThis study applied methodological refinements to the 1991 departmental evaluation of the traffic violator school (TVS) citation dismissal policy. This study identified and compared two large samples of drivers either completing a TVS (N = 210,015) or convicted of a traffic citation (N = 168,563). Prior to adjudication, the TVS group had characteristics (e.g., lower prior conviction rate and smaller proportion of males) that were predictive of a lower subsequent crash risk. However, the TVS group exhibited significantly more crashes than did the convicted group in the subsequent one-year period. The difference (4.83%) increased to 10% after adjusting for the more favorable characteristics of the TVS group. The TVS group also had a higher adjusted subsequent crash rate at each prior driver record entry level, reflecting a loss in the general and specific deterrence of the non-conviction masked status of TVS dismissed citations. It was also demonstrated that approximately 15,000 Negligent Operator Treatment System (NOTS) Level 3 (probation/suspension hearings) and 6,000 NOTS Level 4 (probation violator sanctions) interventions are circumvented annually because of TVS dismissals. The demonstrated effectiveness of the NOTS interventions in reducing crash risk of treated drivers assists in explaining why the driving public is exposed to an increased crash risk as a result of their avoidance. A number of recommendations are offered to reduce the negative traffic safety impact of the TVS citation dismissal policy. |
III |