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Understanding Why Youth Are Over-Represented in Road Crashes

This exercise encourages discussions on the factors contributing to young people's road crash risk, focusing on brain development, social influences, inexperience, and environmental factors. Explore why some youth take higher risks and how to address these issues.

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Understanding Why Youth Are Over-Represented in Road Crashes

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  1. Why are youth over-represented in road crashes? Floor Lieshout

  2. Exercise #1 • Discuss in small groups why you think young people are over-represented in road crashes? • Divide into 3 small groups • 5 - 10 minutes • Usepost-its to brainstorm

  3. Why are youngpeople at risk? • Brain development: between 20-25 yrs • Prefrontal cortex: • Impulse control • Judgment • Decision-making • Reasoning

  4. Why are youngpeople at risk? • Social emotional system of the brain between 14-15 yrs • Social stimuli • Rewards • Emotion wins from self-control • Today I see an advert, tomorrow I buy it

  5. Why are youngpeople at risk?

  6. Why are youngpeople at risk? • Young people are more sensitive for social / group pressure / peer influence • Some young people will take higher risks (negative and positive) than adults in search for a ´kick´ • Young males are higher at risk than young females

  7. Why are youngpeople at risk? • Inexperience among adolescents and young adults makes them less safe when driving a car or a motorcycle than older drivers • Overestimation of their own skills • Environment often not adjusted for their needs • Setting speed limits • Safe playgrounds • Safe school areas

  8. Example on the use of helmets • Self-control: wearing a helmet requires a decision but some young people don’t have that self-control • Emotion: feels better to drive without helmet, don’t want to ruin my hair • Peer pressure: my friends are not wearing helmets so I won’t, none of my family wear helmets so why should I? • Higher risks: I will speed with no helmet because it feels great and is fun • Inexperience and overestimation of skill: I am a good driver, I will never get into a crash so I won’t wear my helmet • Environment not adjusted to needs: helmet design does not look cool or is uncomfortable, need to pay money to keep helmets at parking lot

  9. Not all young people are the same 70% • 70% of young people are open • for road safety messages and will behave OK in most circumstances • 5% are ´traffic criminals´ • and will do whatever they want • 25% can go either way, hopefully they chose the biggest group (social validation) 25% 5%

  10. Whichgroup to focus? FOCUS

  11. Summary • Braindevelopment • Selfcontrolarea: notyetdeveloped • Social / emotionalarea: developed • Sensitive for social / peer pressure • Higher risk taking • Males - Females • Inexperience and overestimation • No safe environment • Focus on the 70% group

  12. Contactweb: www.youthforroadsafety.orgemail: floor@youthforroadsafety.orgFindusbysearchingYouth for Road Safety on:

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