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Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds. In 2006, 3,490 15- to 20-year-old drivers died and an additional 272,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes. In 2006, 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes were between 15 and 20 years old. In comparison, these young drivers represent 6.3 percent of all licensed drivers. Overall, driver fatalities for this age group increased by 3 percent between 1996 and 2006. For young males, driver fatalities rose by 5 percent, compared with a 3 percent decrease for young females (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts — Young Drivers, DOT HS 810 817, 2006).

Figure 1 shows that in 2006 young drivers between 15 and 20 years old had the highest fatal crash involvement rate of any age group with 59.5 fatal crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers. This rate is significantly higher than any other age group and more than double the rate for any age group 35 and older.

Figure 2 shows that in 2005 the involvement rate per 100,000 licensed drivers was highest (63.98) for 16-year-old drivers and lowest for 20-year-old drivers (53.52). Rates for 17- and 18-year-old drivers are close to each other but are lower than the rate for 16-year-olds.

Contributing Factors to Teen Driver Crash Rates

Highway safety literature has documented that teen drivers, due to a combination of immaturity and inexperience, have a higher propensity for risk-taking behaviors than do older and more experienced drivers. Research and crash data tell us that teen drivers are less likely to buckle up, and more likely to speed or drive too fast for prevailing conditions (Hedlund, Shults, & Compton, 2003). Other factors shown to place teen novice drivers at greater risk of crash involvement include driving late at night (Lin & Fearn, 2003), driving while impaired by alcohol (Williams, 2003), and driving in the presence of teenage passengers (Lin & Fearn, 2003; Williams, 2003). In fact, in-depth studies of novice-driver crashes suggest that contributing factors to teen crashes are much the same as for adult experienced driver crashes.

Teenagers appear to use new technology at a greater rate than older people do. The latest survey of driver cell phone use found younger drivers ages 16-24 using hand-held cell phones at a higher rate than older drivers (Traffic Safety Facts — Driver Cell Phone Use in 2006 — Overall Results, DOT HS 810 790, 2007). While younger drivers may not be more likely to use their Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), iPods, and other portable entertainment devices while driving than older drivers, younger drivers are less experienced at multitasking while driving and are therefore more easily distracted than their older counterparts (Stutts et al., 2001). In fact, preliminary research has identified different visual scanning patterns between younger novice drivers and older, more experienced drivers, providing support for teen drivers' apparent inability to detect high-risk situations (Pradhan et al., 2005).

Younger drivers are frequently inexperienced in hazard recognition and often take unnecessary risks due to a combination of poor decision making and an illusion of invulnerability (Williams, 2006). Younger drivers do not always consider the consequences of their actions. Recent research in adolescent development supports the contention that younger people are often developmentally less capable of making sound judgments and decisions regarding potentially risky behavior. Areas of the brain involved in rendering judgments and making decisions are not fully developed until around age 25 (Keating, 2007). Young drivers are particularly vulnerable to certain high-risk driving situations, such as driving at night (Lin & Fearn, 2003; Williams, 2003), after drinking alcohol (Williams, 2003), with other teenage passengers (Lin & Fearn, 2003; Williams, 2003), and when unbelted (Ferguson, 2003).

Programs for Teen Driver Crashes

A variety of approaches have been taken to reduce teen driver crashes. These include laws and sanctions, licensing programs, and educational programs. These will be discussed briefly in turn.

Laws and Sanctions — A number of laws that restrict teenage drinking and driving have been shown to reduce teen crashes. Studies about raising the drinking age to 21 years old and enacting zero tolerance laws have been shown to reduce teen crash rates. Zero-tolerance laws make it unlawful for drivers under age 21 to et ensure the content kept pace with automotive technical advances. ADTSEA provides technical assistance to States and jurisdictions planning to implement or expand driver education programs and graduated driver licensing requirements. (See the Appendix for details.) NHTSA is in the process of reviewing the current state of driver education in the United States. The U.S. Department of Education has joined with NHTSA in a review of current knowledge and state-of-the-art instructional tools, training methods, and curricula consistent with identified best teaching methodologies for teenagers. One component of this project will convene an expert panel to determine the optimal sequencing and timing of the components of driver education training (classroom, in-vehicle, supervised driving). Given the lack of definitive research and evaluation on many of these issues, it is possible the panel will not be able to clearly identify one "best" approach. In this case, NHTSA will assess the feasibility of moving forward with research to test alternative approaches to driver education to see if one approach produces safer novice drivers.

NHTSA also is exploring the development of consensus national guidelines for driver education program content, delivery, and quality control. As part of the process to develop these guidelines driver education administrators and specialists from every State will be invited to a national conference in late 2008. The development of these guidelines will help to ensure that quality driver education is delivered and monitored uniformly throughout the country.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The available evidence shows that: Twenty-one-year-old minimum drinking age laws and zero-tolerance laws have been effective in reducing teen alcohol-related crashes. GDL programs have been shown to reduce teen crashes by approximately 20 percent. Primary seat belt laws lead to higher seat belt use among drivers and passengers of all ages. Driver education is effective at ensuring that novice drivers know the rules of the road, learn basic vehicle control skills, and have been introduced to safe driving information.

Near-term efforts to reduce teen crashes should focus on encouraging States to strengthen their GDL laws to include provisions demonstrated to be effective in reducing teen crash rates. This includes adopting a three-stage GDL system that incorporates a learner's stage, a provisional license, and finally an unrestricted license. A strong GDL system should provide the novice driver the opportunity to gain experience driving with a fully licensed adult driver under all conditions, including daytime and nighttime, adverse weather, high-speed roads, and congested traffic. The provisional license should contain the following restrictions, which have been shown to reduce teen crashes:

Restricted nighttime driving; Limiting the number of teenage passengers; Mandatory seat belt use; Zero tolerance for alcohol and drugs; and Delayed transition to an unrestricted license until the driver meets a minimum 1-year period of violation-free driving.

NHTSA's Vehicle and Behavioral Safety Research Office has several ongoing projects examining the feasibility and potential of monitoring systems to encourage safer driving behavior by teens. One project is currently determining the specific driving behaviors that should be monitored to reduce risky driving by teens, including using data from naturalistic driving to learn how novice teen driving behavior changes over the first 18 months of driving. Another study is looking at commercially available monitoring systems, coupled with weekly feedback to parents of teen drivers to reduce risky driving behavior and crashes. These projects are still in formative stages, but may eventually result in systems for voluntary use by parents who want to enhance the safety of their children as they learn to drive. In addition, NHTSA is examining a closer integration of driver education with graduated driver licensing programs for novice drivers that would involve a multistage driver education program. For example, the first stage of such an integrated system might involve teaching novice drivers the rules of the road and basic vehicle control skills. Later, when the novice drivers progress to the provisional license phase, they would be required to take a course that focuses on safe driving. Whether this approach would prove beneficial in reducing teen driver crashes remains to be seen.