Teen Driving: The National Perspective

1. Teen Driving: The National Perspective Elizabeth A. Baker, Ph.D. Regional Administrator, NHTSA Region 3 Virginia Distracted Driving Summit

2. Teens Have High Crash Rates Overall Especially high: • During the first few months/miles of driving • At night • With teenage passengers • With alcohol

3. Fatal Crash Involvementper 100 Thousand Licensed Drivers, Day vs. Night (FARS and FHWA, 2011)

4. Crashes per Million Miles, by Driver Age (2001-2002 GES data; IIHS, 2006)

5. National Priorities for Making Teen Drivers Safer • Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) • Reducing Teens’ Access to Alcohol • Increasing Seat Belt Use • Parental Responsibility

6. Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) • Three-stage GDL laws address immaturity and inexperience, the primary factors contributing to young driver crashes. • As of August, 2013: • All States and the District of Columbia have GDL • These are typically 3-stage systems with most model components, although no State has all components of a model system. • Detailed list of licensing requirements by State can be found at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) website: http://www.iihs.org/laws/

7. Common GDL Restrictions • Passenger Restrictions • Nighttime Driving Restrictions • Safety Belt Requirements • Cell Phone Restrictions • Zero Tolerance Alcohol Restrictions

8. How is GDL Effective? • Expanding the learning process • Reducing risk exposure • Delaying full licensure • Improving driving proficiency • Enhancing motivation for self-driving

9. Reducing Teens’ Access to Alcohol • Teens are at far greater risk of death in an alcohol-related crash than the overall population, despite the fact they cannot legally purchase or publicly possess alcohol in any State. • High-visibility enforcement of underage purchase, possession, and provision laws can: • create a significant deterrent for violation of youth access laws; • reduce underage drinking; • and decrease alcohol-related crashes. • Additionally, parental responsibility is key to educating and protecting our teens.

10. Increasing Seat Belt Use • Teens buckle up far less frequently than adults do. • One of NHTSA’s top priorities is working to ensure that people of every age buckle up—and this includes a special emphasis on young drivers.

11. Parental Involvement • Survey research shows that parental involvement in teen driving can lead to positive outcomes. • What can parents do? • Be familiar with State GDL law and its provisions • Enforce GDL law and its provisions • Limit exposure in risky driving situations above and beyond GDL law • Follow through on supervised driving requirements in State • Use technology to aid in monitoring • Withdraw driving privileges when appropriate

12. Parental Involvement • ROLE MODEL GOOD BEHAVIOR! • If you drive distracted, unbelted, or impaired—your kids will, too.

13. Driver Education • Traditional Driver Education Requirements • 30 hours of classroom instruction • Theory • Rules of the road • Safe/defensive driving • Risk assessment • 6-10 hours in-vehicle training (car control)

14. Summary • Young drivers have very high rates of involvement in fatal crashes. • GDL laws have been proven to be effective in reducing these crashes. • Reducing teens’ access to alcohol can have a significant effect on decreasing crash rates. • Similarly, increasing teens’ use of seat belts can provide better outcomes in crashes, drastically reducing fatalities and injuries. • Parental involvement and role modeling are vital to helping teen drivers learn the skills they need to be safe. • The goal of driver education is to teach novice drivers the skills to be safe and competent drivers.

15. THANK YOU For more information: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Teen-Drivers Elizabeth A. Baker, Ph.D. Regional Administrator NHTSA Region 3 Beth.baker@dot.gov