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30 June 2003: Drivers convicted of traffic offences are 35 per cent less likely to be involved in a fatal crash in the first month after conviction, but the benefit disappears in as short a time as three months afterwards.

That's a conclusion by Canadian researchers who conducted a case-crossover study to test whether traffic convictions had any effect on such accidents.

The researchers, whose results were published in The Lancet, found that the initial benefit was not altered by age, previous convictions, and other personal characteristics. They also found that it was greater for speeding violations with penalty points than speeding violations without points.

They concluded that traffic-law enforcement effectively reduces the frequency of fatal motor-vehicle crashes in countries with high rates of motor-vehicle use, but that inconsistent enforcement may contribute to thousands of deaths each year worldwide.

	June 2003 - Brian Byrne
Short benefit from traffic convictions 30 June 2003: Drivers convicted of traffic offences are 35 per cent less likely to be involved in a fatal crash in the first month after conviction, but the benefit disappears in as short a time as three months afterwards. That's a conclusion by Canadian researchers who conducted a case-crossover study to test whether traffic convictions had any effect on such accidents. The researchers, whose results were published in The Lancet, found that the initial benefit was not altered by age, previous convictions, and other personal characteristics. They also found that it was greater for speeding violations with penalty points than speeding violations without points. They concluded that traffic-law enforcement effectively reduces the frequency of fatal motor-vehicle crashes in countries with high rates of motor-vehicle use, but that inconsistent enforcement may contribute to thousands of deaths each year worldwide.
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