Teen crash risk highest during first three months after getting driver鈥檚 license
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Teen crash risk highest during first three months after getting driver鈥檚 license
Teenage drivers are eight times more likely to be involved in a collision or near miss during the first three months after getting a driver鈥檚 license, compared to the previous three months on a learner鈥檚 permit, suggests a study led by the National Institutes of Health. Teens are also four times more likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as rapid acceleration, sudden braking and hard turns, during this period. In contrast, teens on a learner鈥檚 permit drove more safely, with their crash/near crash and risky driving rates similar to those of adults. The study appears in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
鈥淕iven the abrupt increase in driving risks when teenagers start to drive independently, our findings suggest that they may benefit from a more gradual decrease in adult supervision during the first few months of driving alone,鈥 said Bruce Simons-Morton, Ed.D., M.P.H., senior investigator at 51视频鈥檚 Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and one of the authors of the study.
The study is one of the first to follow the same individuals over time, from the beginning of the learner period through the first year of independent driving, while continuously collecting information using software and cameras installed in the participants鈥 vehicles.
The study also evaluated parents鈥 driving in the same vehicles, over the same time, on similar roads and under similar driving conditions as their children. Near-crash events were those requiring a last-moment maneuver to avoid a crash, while crashes were physical contact between the driver鈥檚 vehicle and another object.
The study enrolled 90 teenagers and 131 parents in Virginia, and the data collection system was developed by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg.
Overall, the study found that the crash/near crash rate for teenagers did not decline over the first year of independent driving, while the rate of risky driving modestly declined. According to the researchers, if teenagers were learning from their experiences, one would expect that the driving risks would consistently decline over time.
Teenagers also had a higher risky driving rate under favorable conditions鈥攄aytime or dry roads鈥攃ompared to less favorable conditions鈥攏ighttime or wet roads. This finding implies that teenagers may be more careful and less inclined to take risks during unfavorable driving conditions.
When comparing male and female teens, the study team found that the risky driving rate did not differ by gender during the learning period. However, when teenagers entered independent driving stages, males had a higher risky driving rate. This rate did not consistently decrease over time for males but did decrease for females. The crash/near crash rate was similar across genders and driving periods.
鈥淒uring the learner鈥檚 permit period, parents are present, so there are some skills that teenagers cannot learn until they are on their own,鈥 said Pnina Gershon, Ph.D., the study鈥檚 lead author. 鈥淲e need a better understanding of how to help teenagers learn safe driving skills when parents or other adults are not present.鈥
The researchers aim to identify factors that may improve safety and reduce specific driving risks. They plan to address whether the duration and quality of practice driving can predict future outcomes in the independent driving period. They also will explore how passengers influence driving risk during learner and independent driving periods.
About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): NICHD conducts and supports research in the United States and throughout the world on fetal, infant and child development; maternal, child and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit .
About the National Institutes of Health (51视频): 51视频, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 51视频 is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about 51视频 and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
51视频鈥urning Discovery Into Health庐
Gershon P, Ehsani JP, Zhu C, Klauer S, Dingus T, and Simons-Morton B. Crash risk and risky driving behavior among adolescents during learner and independent driving periods. Journal of Adolescent Health DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.04.012 (2018).