Ten Percenters : Final Report

Robertson, Robyn; Marcoux, Kyla; Wood, Katherine; Vanlaar, Ward; Simpson, Herb · 2010 · ROSA P / I-95 Corridor Coalition

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Summary

This report, produced by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation for the I-95 Corridor Coalition, addresses the safety challenge posed by "ten percenters"—a small subset of persistent high-risk drivers responsible for a disproportionate share of serious injury and fatal collisions. The research was motivated by the stagnation of traffic safety gains in the early 2000s, as traditional interventions failed to deter hard-core offenders who engage in behaviors such as impaired driving, speeding, non-use of seat belts, and red-light running. The primary goal was to quantify the magnitude of this problem, characterize these drivers, and identify best practices for state departments of transportation and criminal justice agencies to effectively target this resistant population. The study employed a multi-method approach using data from 2005 to 2007. Due to difficulties in merging state-level crash and driver record data, the researchers utilized the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for coalition states and the District of Columbia, alongside driver record data from Florida, Virginia, and Georgia. High-risk drivers were operationally defined as individuals with three or more distinct events (violations, crashes, or suspensions) in the preceding three years, or those with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.16% or higher at the time of a crash. To address missing BAC data in FARS, the researchers conducted two sets of analyses: one using available data and another using multiple imputation to estimate missing BAC values. State-specific definitions were applied to driver records to estimate the prevalence of high-risk drivers among licensed populations. The findings indicate that ten percenters are significantly overrepresented in fatal crashes compared to the general driving population. Analyses of FARS data revealed distinct characteristics associated with high-risk drivers, including higher rates of collision severity, specific driver behaviors, and environmental factors. The use of multiple imputation for BAC data increased the identification of high-risk drivers, confirming that alcohol impairment is a critical component of this group’s profile. State driver record analyses provided estimates of the magnitude of the problem in Florida, Virginia, and Georgia, demonstrating that a small percentage of licensed drivers account for a large portion of traffic violations and crashes. The report also synthesized results from an international survey of road safety programs, identifying existing strategies used by various jurisdictions to manage high-risk offenders. The significance of this research lies in its provision of evidence-based recommendations for targeting persistent violators. The report concludes that traditional deterrents are often ineffective for this group and advocates for specialized interventions such as vehicle impoundment, alcohol interlocks, and targeted treatment programs. By defining the operational characteristics of ten percenters and highlighting their disproportionate impact on road safety, the study offers a framework for developing best practices that can reduce deaths and injuries along the I-95 corridor and beyond. The findings underscore the need for coordinated efforts between transportation and law enforcement agencies to address the unique challenges posed by hard-core offenders.

Key finding

A small group of persistent traffic offenders accounts for a disproportionate share of fatal crashes and serious injuries, necessitating targeted interventions beyond traditional enforcement methods.

Methodology

dataset

Sample size: 59623

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• incidence prevalence
• sex gender
• demographic disparities
• novice drivers
• induced exposure
• driver education effectiveness

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource