AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
607 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-638-5944
June 22, 2006
Fact Sheet for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Report:
Reducing the Crash Risk for Young Drivers
The Problem:
According to AAA Foundation analysis of data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
- Roughly 1,000 16- and 17-year-old drivers are killed in motor vehicle crashes every year in the U.S., including 965 in 2004.
- Between 1995 and 2004, 16- and 17-year-old drivers were involved in 24,704 fatal crashes, resulting in the deaths of 10,445 of these drivers, 8,925 of their passengers, and 9,430 other people.
- Over half of 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes were carrying passengers younger than 21.
- Over 30% of fatal crashes involving a 16- or 17-year-old drivers occur between 9 PM and 6 AM, despite relatively little driving during these hours.
- July and August are typically two of the deadliest months for teenage drivers. Roughly 100 16- and 17-year-old drivers are killed in crashes on average in July or August, more than in any other month.
Purpose of Current Study:
- To examine the crash rates and crash patterns of novice drivers in jurisdictions with substantially different Graduated Driver Licensing programs, and to investigate what aspects of the respective programs are most effective.
- To compare and contrast the characteristics of newly-licensed teenage drivers who had been involved in crashes with those who had not.
Findings:
- Injury crash rates were 20% lower among 16-year-olds in one jurisdiction whose GDL program included restrictions on unsupervised nighttime driving and driving with teenage passengers during the intermediate stage (Oregon) than in another jurisdiction that did not (Ontario), suggesting that these restrictions are effective in reducing crashes among 16-year-old drivers.
- Crash-free teens reported higher levels of compliance with passenger restrictions while holding a provisional license, relative to crash-involved teens. Crash-free teens reported higher levels of parental monitoring, relative to crash-involved teens.
- Study conducted by Daniel Mayhew, Herb Simpson, Deanna Singhal, and Katherine Desmond of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, Ottawa, Ontario, and sponsored by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
- The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) compared rates and crash patterns of teenage drivers in one jurisdiction with nighttime and passenger restrictions during the intermediate stage of GDL to those in another jurisdiction whose GDL program did not include such restrictions. TIRF also compared and contrasted the characteristics of crash-involved and crash-free teens and their parents via a telephone survey of 1,000 teens.
Solutions:
- The AAA Foundation offers an interactive DVD called Driver-ZED™, which puts the teen user through 100 driving scenarios allowing them to experience conditions it could take several years to encounter on the road. Also included is supplemental information to aid parents in the process. Visit www.driverzed.org.
- AAA developed model language specifically designed for state DMV websites and can be use by parents and teens that will include tips for parents, the role of parents, the role of parents in licensure, parent-teen contracts and other information. This model language can be found at www.aaa.com/publicaffairs. AAA will be working with the Department of Motor Vehicle offices to make information about teen driver safety more readily accessible for parents and teens.
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