A comprehensive Otago University study will provide the first in-depth New Zealand data on the correlation between drivers' age and crash figures.
The study, by the Injury Prevention Unit, follows 4,000 people from the time they sit their learner licence until ten years after they have gained their full licence.
Researcher Dr Dorothy Begg expects some of the findings may mirror overseas research which supports raising the driving age.
She says that research shows quite convincingly that the younger the driver the higher the risk, regardless of how much driving experience they have had.
The first findings from the study could be published later this year.
