Identifying community-level disparities in access to driver education and training: Toward a definition of driver training deserts

Abstract

Objective

Obtaining a license may be challenging for teens due to access to driving instruction; in some states, behind-the-wheel (BTW) instruction is required to secure a license before age 18. We investigate spatial accessibility to BTW centers, and how this geographic distribution intersects with metrics of social disparity at the metropolitan level, toward identifying Driver Training Deserts (DTDs): geographic areas of disconnection to driver training.

Methods

For the Columbus OH region, we collect socioeconomic variables at the Census tract unit of analysis and geocoded locations of public and private BTW training centers and estimate travel time to the nearest BTW training center. We define travel time as either the mean or the maximum travel time to BTW centers across all 1 km × 1 km grid cells within a Census tract. We employ spatial statistical approaches, including homogeneous/inhomogeneous K functions, to determine whether BTW training centers are clustered. Next, we define DTDs as Census tracts with a poverty rate and travel time to BTW centers larger than the 75th percentile values across the region.

Results

BTW training centers are spatially clustered across the region; the magnitude of this clustering is so great that BTW centers exhibit statistically significant patterns of clustering, even when considering the underlying spatial distribution of socio-economic characteristics. We find that 11–27 Census tracts are identified as DTDs depending on the definition of travel time. DTDs contain a disproportionate percent of the high poverty population (8.7–23.5%) and, depending on the definition of travel time, a disproportionately large African American population.

Conclusions

Methodologically, defining DTDs necessitates a fine-grained spatial approach as suburban and rural Census tracts tend to be large and thus can be poorly represented by travel times averaged over the Census tract. Defining DTDs as a measure of individual-specific variables – income and impedance – allows DTDs to be addressed with policy interventions. The findings motivate future research correlating DTDs with licensure rates, enrollment in driver training, and safe driving outcomes to understand if DTDs can help explain health equity outcomes related to young driver safety.

Keywords:

• Driving education
• accessibility
• K function
• driving training deserts
• young drivers
• teenagers
• licensing

Data availability statement

As the data used in this manuscript are all publicly available, the authors will make the data available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number 1R21HD099635-01; NIH (award 320199-AXX, sponsor 5R21HD099635-02); the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through the Ohio Traffic Safety Office (NHTSA) (grants AWD-00002705, AWD-00001365, AWD-00000020, and 890508-A01); the Ohio Department of Public Safety (grants GG-2022, GG-2021, GG-2020, GG-2019); CHOP (grants Ph-00002, Ph-00008, Ph-00016, and Ph-0002); the State of Ohio’s Department of Administrative Services, managed by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles; the Distinguished Chair in the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for team salary support after NIH salary caps; and by an NJM Insurance Group gift to CHOP. Data collection was financed by the NHTSA and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Data management and analyses were supported jointly by the NICHD, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, NHTSA, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania (award 824821-A01).