What role the driving age?

A commenter over on Whale Oil has provided updated statistics for the NSW road crash toll and pointed out that most recently, under 26 year-olds were involved in only 20 percent of fatal crashes. A significant improvement on the average of 36 percent in the five years to 2003, the stats I used yesterday.

The question remains in my mind however.

The dri­ving age was 17 dur­ing the 5 year period to 2003 and it has remained at 17 since. The post 2003 improved per­for­mance is not related to any rise in the dri­ving age. Yet NZ is push­ing the case that rais­ing our age will bring the type of improve­ment seen in NSW?

Here are the changes implemented in July 2007.