Washington, DC—The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety today released an important new analysis of crash data involving teenage drivers. The surprising finding is that teen drivers are killing other people in much greater numbers than they are killing themselves. Highway safety programs to date have largely focused on the effects of these crashes on the teen drivers themselves, but this analysis shows that programs need to focus on the impact on others as well.
According to the AAA Foundation's analysis, between 1995 and 2004, crashes involving 15-, 16- and 17-year-old drivers claimed 30,917 lives nationwide. Of those, 11,177 (36.2 percent) were the teen drivers themselves and 9,847 (31.9 percent) were passengers of the 15- to 17-year-old drivers. The remaining deaths comprised a surprising 32 percent of the total deaths, and included 7,477 occupants of other vehicles operated by drivers at least 18 years of age, 2,323 non-motorists and 93 others/unknowns.
These findings change the face of the teen driving issue, because it is not just those with teenagers that are at risk-the safety of all members of the driving public is jeopardized unless we reduce the number of teen driver crashes. The analysis also reinforces the uniqueness of the teen driving problem as older drivers, for example, tend to only injure themselves in crashes.
GHSA believes that the following actions are key to reducing teen driver crashes:
- Strengthening graduated licensing (GDL) laws; ·
- Involving parents to ensure GDL laws are enforced; ·
- Integrating licensing laws with improved driver education programs.
GHSA encourages every state to pass a strong GDL law with three stages:
- · A minimum supervised learner's period; ·
- An intermediate license--once the driving test is passed--that limits unsupervised driving in high risk situations; ·
- A full-privilege driver's license available only after completion of the first two stages.
Ideal laws include components such as nighttime and passenger restrictions. Research indicates that new teen drivers are most likely to be involved in a crash at night or when other teens are present in the vehicle.
It is critical that parents be involved in this process to ensure the restrictions are enforced. Law enforcement resources are too strained to allow officials to effectively enforce licensing laws to the level necessary to effect substantial reductions in deaths and injuries.
A complete revision and improvement of driver education programs is a very important component of reducing the number of lives lost in teen driver crashes. Too often, these programs are aimed only at passing the driver's test and do not necessarily provide sufficient practice to demonstrate the skills necessary the skills necessary to be a safe and responsible driver. The revision of driver education programs needs to reflect adult learning theories and involve innovative delivery techniques. The new curriculum should be thoroughly evaluated and driver education teacher certification standards should be developed and implemented.
To help give momentum to the effort to improve GDL laws and driver education, GHSA and the Ford Motor Company Fund have developed Driving Skills for Life (DSFL). This comprehensive program incorporates the four driving skills safety experts believe have the most promise of preventing crashes: Hazard Recognition, Vehicle Handling, Speed Management, and Space Management. DSFL provides learning materials for use by students, parents, educators, and instructors and is appropriate for use at home, in schools and in community settings.
GHSA encourages new drivers to take the online Driving Skills for Life Challenge—an interactive video course that teaches the key skills for new drivers.
For more information about the AAA Foundation analysis, visit www.aaa.com/news.
For more information about Driving Skills for Life, visit www.drivingskillsforlife.com.
The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is the nonprofit association representing the highway safety agencies of states, territories, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Indian Nation. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans. For more information, contact GHSA at (202) 789-0942 or visit www.ghsa.org.
