Vehicle choices for teenage drivers: A national survey of U.S. parents

IntroductionPrevious research has shown that many newly licensed teenagers in the United States are driving vehicles with inferior crash protection. The objective of this study was to update and extend previous research on U.S. parents' choices of vehicles for their teenagers.MethodTelephone surveys were conducted with parents in May 2014 using a random sample of U.S. households likely to include teenagers. Participation was restricted to parents or guardians of teenagers who lived in the household and held either an intermediate or full driver's license. Parents were interviewed about the vehicle their teenager drives, the reason they chose the vehicle for their teenager, and the cost of purchased vehicles.ResultsTeenagers most often were driving 2000–06 model year vehicles (41%), with 30% driving a more recent model year and 19% driving an older model year. Teenagers most often were driving midsize or large cars (27%), followed by SUVs (22%), mini or small cars (20%), and pickups (14%). Far fewer were driving minivans (6%) or sports cars (1%). Forty-three percent of the vehicles driven by teenagers were purchased when the teenager started driving or later. A large majority (83%) were used vehicles. The median cost of the vehicles purchased was $5300, and the mean purchase price was $9751.ConclusionsAlthough parents report that the majority of teenagers are driving midsize or larger vehicles, many of these vehicles likely do not have key safety features, such as electronic stability control, which would be especially beneficial for teenage drivers. Many teenagers were driving older model year vehicles or vehicle types or sizes that are not ideal for novice drivers.Practical applicationsParents, and their teenage drivers, may benefit from consumer information about optimal vehicle choices for teenagers.     

Effects of in-vehicle monitoring on the driving behavior of teenagers

Objectives

The objective was to determine if teenage driving behavior improves when a monitoring and feedback device is installed in the teen's vehicle.

Methods

Vehicles of 85 teenage drivers were fit with a device that detected all instances of sudden braking/acceleration, speeding, and nonuse of seat belts. Drivers were assigned randomly to one of four research groups, differing in whether or not an alert sounded in the vehicle and whether or not parents were given access to websites containing notification records. Time trends in event rates per mile traveled were compared using Poisson regression.

Results

Seat belt use improved when violations were reported to the parent websites, and improved even more when in-vehicle alerts were activated. Consistent reductions in speeding were achieved only when teenagers received alerts about their speeding behavior, believed their speeding behavior would not be reported to parents if corrected, and when parents were being notified of such behavior by report cards.

Conclusions

Electronic monitoring of teenage drivers can reduce the incidence of risky behavior, especially seat belt nonuse. More complicated behavior is more difficult to change, however.

Impact on Industry

Parent participation is key to successful behavioral modification, but it is yet to be determined how best to encourage such participation.     

What vehicle features are considered important when buying an automobile? An examination of driver preferences by age and gender

Introduction

Certain vehicle features can help drivers avoid collisions and/or protect occupants in the event of a crash, and therefore, might play an important role when deciding which vehicle to purchase. The objective of this study was to examine the importance attributed to key vehicle features (including safety) that drivers consider when buying a car and its association with age and gender.

Methods

A sample of 2,002 Canadian drivers aged 18 years and older completed a survey that asked them to rank the importance of eight vehicle features if they were to purchase a vehicle (storage, mileage, safety, price, comfort, performance, design, and reliability). ANOVA tests were performed to: (a) determine if there were differences in the level of importance between features and; (b) examine the effect of age and gender on the importance attributed to these features.

Results

Of the features examined, safety and reliability were the most highly rated in terms of importance, whereas design and performance had the lowest rating. Differences in safety and performance across age groups were dependent on gender. This effect was most evident in the youngest and oldest age groups.

Conclusions

Safety and reliability were considered the most important features. Age and gender play a significant role in explaining the importance of certain features.

Impact on Industry

Targeted efforts for translating safety-related information to the youngest and oldest consumers should be emphasized due to their high collision, injury, and fatality rates.     

"The little squealer" or "the virtual guardian angel"? Young drivers' and their parents' perspective on using a driver monitoring technology and its implications for parent-young driver communication

Introduction

In-vehicle driving monitoring technologies have the potential to enable young drivers to learn from self-assessment. However, their use is largely dependent on parental involvement.

Method

A total of 79 interviews were conducted with young drivers and parents regarding this technology and its use. Most had the experience of having an in-vehicle data recorder installed in the vehicle driven by the young drivers. Parents and the young drivers expressed both appreciation as well as reservations about its potential as a means to enhance the driving safety of young drivers.

Results

A surprising finding was that some parents did not check the feedback and said they relied on the young driver to do so. Main concerns related to privacy, parent-young driver relationship, self-esteem and confidence, constructive use of the feedback data, and the limitations of the documentation that can be done by the technology.

Conclusions

Providing parents and young drivers with a support system and tools to discuss and utilize the feedback are underscored. Challenges include addressing the invasion of young drivers’ privacy and gender differences, and using the monitoring-capacity of the technology to enhance safe driving practices. Implications for programs to enhance communication and a dialogical approach between parents and young drivers are discussed.     

A national evaluation of the nighttime and passenger restriction components of graduated driver licensing

Introduction

The high crash rate of youthful novice drivers has been recognized for half a century. Over the last decade, graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems, which extend the period of supervised driving and limit the novice's exposure to higher-risk conditions (such as nighttime driving), have effectively reduced crash involvements of novice drivers.

Method

This study used data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the implementation dates of GDL laws in a state-by-year panel study to evaluate the effectiveness of two key elements of GDL laws: nighttime restrictions and passenger limitations.

Results

Nighttime restrictions were found to reduce 16- and 17-year-old driver involvements in nighttime fatal crashes by an estimated 10% and 16- and 17-year-old drinking drivers in nighttime fatal crashes by 13%. Passenger restrictions were found to reduce 16- and 17-year-old driver involvements in fatal crashes with teen passengers by an estimated 9%.

Conclusions

These results confirm the effectiveness of these provisions in GDL systems. Impact on Public Health. States without the nighttime or passenger restrictions in their GDL law should strongly consider adopting them.

Impact on Industry

The results of this study indicate that nighttime restrictions and passenger limitations are very important components of any GDL law.     

Risks older drivers pose to themselves and to other road users

Problem

Studies have shown that older drivers have high death rates and lower rates of involvement in crashes that kill others; but most studies have not considered drivers' responsibility for their crashes, and many have considered only one particular measure of risk.

Method

This study examines risks that drivers of various ages pose to themselves and to others on per-driver, per-trip, and per-mile bases, taking responsibility for crashes into account, using United States fatal crash data from 1999 through 2003 and travel estimates from 2001.

Results

Relative to other age groups, drivers aged 85 and older face the highest risk of their own death, whereas teens pose the greatest risk to passengers, occupants of other vehicles, and non-motorists.

Discussion

The oldest drivers pose more risk to other road users than middle-aged drivers do; the degree of their excess risk depends strongly upon how risk is measured.

Impact on industry

These results demonstrate the importance of keeping clear the meaning and implications of various risk measures.     

A Bayesian assessment of the effect of highway bypasses in Iowa on crashes and crash rate

Introduction

A common contention is that the construction of highway bypasses negatively impacts the economy of local communities by reducing pass-by traffic for businesses. However, as access to specific business' account records is limited, this impact is difficult to quantify. Another common contention is that bypasses contribute to a reduction in overall crashes in the community and in the surrounding areas. Even though a large number of bypasses have been constructed in the State of Iowa over the past several years, their actual impact in terms of traffic safety has not been quantified.

Objectives

This study seeks answers to the following questions: (a) Are bypasses in Iowa associated with a reduction in crash frequencies and crash rates on the bypassed highway? (b) Do bypasses in Iowa introduce a reduction of overall crash frequencies and rates or do they merely shift crashes from the highways through the communities to the bypasses with no significant overall reduction?

Method

We obtained crash information from the Iowa DOT at 19 sites on which a bypass was constructed sometime during the past 23 years. We also obtained the same information at six sites used as comparison sites on which no bypasses were constructed at least until 2005. We them employed a Bayesian approach to estimating the association between the construction of the bypass and crash rates, while also accounting for other factors.

Results

The construction of bypasses in Iowa is associated with a significant increase in traffic safety both on the main road through town and on the combined main road and bypass roadway.     

Dissociation between driving performance and drivers' subjective estimates of performance and workload in dual-task conditions

Introduction

The current study measured how concurrent driving and in-vehicle activities of different levels of engagement varied in terms of performance and subjective estimates of demand and performance.

Method

In this test track study, 41 younger and older drivers completed a series of cognitive tasks while driving an instrumented vehicle. One task involved an engaging guessing game where drivers tried to guess the identity of an object. The other task involved a simple mental arithmetic task.

Results

We observed some dissociation between drivers' performance and their subjective reports. For instance, drivers tended to estimate their performance as better for the more engaging guessing task than the arithmetic task, though their performance was actually worse. At the same time, subjective estimates of workload across the two tasks did not vary in the dual-task condition even though they did in the single-task baseline conditions, suggesting that drivers failed to account for the added demands in dual-task situations.

Conclusions

We discuss the implications of these findings for driver safety.

Impact on Industry

Crashes due to distraction can carry tremendous costs for employers, in terms of injury, disability, and loss of potentially productive work years, whether these crashes occur on or off the job.     

Effect of enhanced seat belt reminders on driver fatality risk

Objective

Enhanced seat belt reminders in automobiles have been shown to increase belt use rates by approximately 3 percentage points. The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of enhanced seat belt reminders on driver fatality risk.

Method

Data included all passenger vehicle driver deaths and vehicle registration counts in the United States for calendar years 2000-2007. Driver fatality rates per vehicle registration per year were compared for otherwise identical vehicle models with and without enhanced seat belt reminders.

Results

Driver fatality rates were 6% lower for vehicles with enhanced seat belt reminders compared with vehicles without enhanced belt reminders. After adjusting for vehicle age differences, the estimated effect of enhanced belt reminders on driver fatality risk ranged from a 9% reduction for General Motors vehicles to a 2% increase for Honda vehicles. Combining all manufacturers, enhanced belt reminders reduced fatality risk by approximately 2%. Although not statistically significant, the 2% reduction in fatality risk agrees with what should be expected from a 3 percentage point increase in seat belt use rates.

Conclusions

Enhanced seat belt reminders have raised driver belt use rates and reduced fatality rates, but more aggressive systems may be needed for some drivers. It can be inferred that nonfatal injury rates also have been reduced.

Impact on Industry

Manufacturers should be encouraged to put enhanced seat belt reminders on all vehicles as soon as possible.     

Required hours of practice for learner drivers: A comparison between two Australian jurisdictions

Problem

This study considers whether requiring learner drivers to complete a set number of hours while on a learner license affects the amount of hours of supervised practice that they undertake. It compares the amount of practice that learners in Queensland and New South Wales report undertaking. At the time the study was conducted, learner drivers in New South Wales were required to complete 50 hours of supervised practice while those from Queensland were not.

Method

Participants were approached outside driver licensing centers after they had just completed their practical driving test to obtain their provisional (intermediate) license. Those agreeing to participate were interviewed over the phone later and asked a range of questions to obtain information including socio-demographic details and amount of supervised practice completed.

Results

There was a significant difference in the amount of practice that learners reported undertaking. Participants from New South Wales reported completing a significantly greater amount of practice (M = 73.3 hours, sd = 29.12 hours) on their learner license than those from Queensland (M = 64.1 hours, sd = 51.05 hours). However, the distribution of hours of practice among the Queensland participants was bimodal in nature. Participants from Queensland reported either completing much less or much more practice than the New South Wales average.

Summary

While it appears that the requirement that learner drivers complete a set number of hours may increase the average amount of hours of practice obtained, it may also serve to discourage drivers from obtaining additional practice, over and above the required hours.

Impact on Industry

The results of this study suggest that the implications of requiring learner drivers to complete a set number of hours of supervised practice are complex. In some cases, policy makers may inadvertently limit the amount of hours learners obtain to the mandated amount rather than encouraging them to obtain as much practice as possible.     

When may road fatalities start to decrease?

Introduction

The comparative analysis of macroscopic trends in road safety has been a popular research topic. The objective of this research is to propose a simple and, at the same time, reliable multiple regime model framework for international road safety comparisons, allowing for the identification of slope changes of personal risk curves and respective breakpoints.

Method

The trends of road traffic fatalities in several EU countries have been examined through the temporal evolution of elementary socioeconomic indicators, namely motorized vehicle fleet and population, at the country level.

Results

Piece-wise linear regression models have been fitted, using a methodology that allows the simultaneous estimation of all slopes and breakpoints. The number and location of breakpoints, as well as the slope of the connecting trends, vary among countries, thus indicating different road safety evolution patterns.

Impact on industry

Macroscopic analysis of road accident trends may be proved beneficial for the identification of best examples and the implementation of appropriate programmes and measures, which will lead to important benefits for the society and the economy through the reduction of road fatalities and injuries. Best performing countries and the related programmes and measures adopted may concern several safety improvements at the processes of the road, the vehicle and the insurance industries.

Conclusions

Lessons from the analysis of the past road safety patterns of developed countries provide some insight into the underlying process that relates motorization levels with personal risk and can prove to be beneficial for predicting the road safety evolution of developing countries that may have not yet reached the same breakpoints. Furthermore, the presented framework may serve as a basis to build more elaborate models, including more reliable exposure indicators (such as vehicle-km driven).     

Does the built environment affect when American teens become drivers? Evidence from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey

Problem

Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of death for American adolescents. However, the impact of where teens live on when they begin driving has not been studied.

Method

Data from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey were used to estimate the effect of residential density on the driver status of teens aged 16 to 19 years after matching on demographic characteristics.

Results

Controlling for demographic characteristics, 16 and 17 year old teens in high density neighborhoods had driver rates 15 percentage points below teens living in less dense areas (p < 0.001). The effect for 18 and 19 year olds was a 9 percentage point decrease (p < 0.001).

Summary

These results suggest teens living in less dense and more sprawling communities initiate driving at a younger age than comparable teens in compact areas, placing them at increased risk for crash related injuries. Impact on Industry: The role of environmental factors, such as neighborhood walkability and provision of transit, should be considered in young driver programs.     

Restraint use and seating position among children less than 13 years of age: Is it still a problem?

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to calculate national estimates and examine the extent to which children prematurely use adult seat belts and ride in the front seat of a vehicle during a 30 day period.

Methods

Data were obtained from a nationally representative cross-sectional random-digit-dial telephone survey that included child-specific questions on motor vehicle restraint use and seating position.

Results

Among children less than 13 years, parents reported an estimated 618,337 who rode unrestrained and more than one million who rode in the front seat of a vehicle at least some of the time in the past 30 days. During the same time period, close to 11 million children 8 years and younger reportedly used only adult seat belts.

Discussion

Our results highlight the need for continued outreach to parents regarding optimal restraint use and rear seating position for children every trip, every time.     

Analysis of bus collision and non-collision incidents using transit ITS and other archived operations data

Introduction

This paper analyzes factors contributing to bus operations safety incidents at TriMet, the transit provider for the Portland Oregon metropolitan region.

Method

The analysis focuses on 4,631 collision and non-collision incidents that occurred between 2006 and 2009. Empirical analysis of these incidents draws on a wide array of operator-level data recovered by transit ITS technologies in combination with information from TriMet's human resources, scheduling, and customer relations databases. Incident frequencies are estimated in relation to operators' demographic characteristics, employment status, assigned work characteristics, service delivery and performance indicators, temporal factors, and customer information.

Results

Apart from identifying factors that are empirically related to the frequency of safety incidents, the findings offer insights into operations policies and practices that hold promise for improving safety.

Impact on Industry

Potential for safety improvement based on analysis of archived operations and human resource data.     

Implied-consent laws: A review of the literature and examination of current problems and related statutes

Problem

A substantial proportion of drivers arrested for DUI refuse the BAC test, thereby reducing the likelihood that they will be convicted and potentially increasing the number of high-risk multiple offenders contributing to alcohol-related crashes.

Method

This paper reviews the information on the current status of implied-consent laws (which impose a sanction on offenders who refuse the BAC test) in the 50 states and the other relevant traffic safety laws and policies that may influence state refusal rates.

Results

Although there appears to be only a weak relationship between state refusal rates and crash rates, there is strong evidence that BAC test refusals significantly compromise the arrest, prosecution, and sentencing of DUI suspects and the overall enforcement of DUI laws in the United States.

Discussion

Laws and policies that may reduce the number of refusals are discussed.

Impact on industry

Alcohol-related crash injuries are an important cost problem for U.S. industry because of property damage from crashes, crash injuries to employees that raise health costs, or the reduction of time on the job resulting from a highway injury.     

Injury severity analysis of accidents involving young male drivers in Great Britain

Introduction

Young male drivers are over-represented in traffic accidents; they were involved in 14% of fatal accidents from 1991 to 2003 while holding only 8% of all drivers licenses in the UK. In this study, a subset of the UK national road accident data from 1991 to 2003 has been analyzed. The primary aim is to determine how to best use monetary and progressive resources to understand how road safety measures will reduce the severity of accidents involving young male drivers in both London and Great Britain.

Method

Ordered probit models were used to identify specific accident characteristics that increase the likelihood of one of three categorical outcomes of accident severity: slight, serious, or fatal.

Results

Characteristics found to lead to a higher likelihood of serious and fatal injuries are generally similar across Great Britain and London but are different from those predicted to lead to a higher likelihood of slight injuries. Those characteristics predicted to lead to serious and fatal injuries include driving in darkness, between Friday and Sunday, on roads with a speed limit of 60 mph, on single carriageways, overtaking, skidding, hitting an object off the carriageway, and when passing the site of a previous accident. Characteristics predicted to lead to slight injuries include driving in daylight, between Monday and Thursday, on roads with a speed limit of 30 mph or less, at a roundabout, waiting to move, and when an animal is on the carriageway.

Impact on Industry

These results aid the selection of policy options that are most likely to reduce the severity of accidents involving young male drivers.     

Vehicles driven by teenagers in their first year of licensure

OBJECTIVE: to determine access to vehicles, vehicle ownership and its correlates, and types of vehicles driven by teenagers during their first year of licensure. METHODS: About 3,500 Connecticut teenagers and their parents recruited at DMV offices participated in a study aimed at persuading parents to impose and maintain driving restrictions on their sons and daughters. Telephone interviews with teens and parents, which included questions on vehicles driven, were conducted upon licensure and at intervals throughout the year. RESULTS: The majority of both male and female teens owned vehicles immediately upon licensure. Family income and number of vehicles in the family were associated with early ownership. A year later 74% owned vehicles. Small cars, which provide inferior crash protection, were the most popular vehicle; the percent driving small cars increased from 36% to 42% over the year. About 25% were driving SUVs, pickups, or sports cars, which may increase crash risk for young beginners. One year after licensure, only 35% of teens were driving midsize or large passenger cars, the types of vehicles recommended for them, and about one-third of these vehicles were 10 or more years old. Owners were more likely than non-owners to drive older and smaller vehicles, to drive more miles, do more risky driving, and to have more traffic violations and crashes. DISCUSSION: Many teenagers in Connecticut were driving vehicles that rank low in crash protection or may increase crash risk. Attention to the young driver problem has been focused primarily on managing driving risks through graduated licensing systems. More attention needs to be given to the vehicles teens drive, and how decisions about vehicle type and ownership are made. Parents exert control over what vehicles their sons and daughters drive, and may benefit from information on how to make choices that better balance cost, safety, and other factors that go into these decisions.     

When workplace safety depends on behavior change: Topics for behavioral safety research

Introduction

Comprehensive interventions that address public-health concerns invariably include behavior-change strategies. In occupational safety and health, behavioral safety is an approach designed to improve safety performance directly through peer observations of safe behaviors, goal setting, performance feedback, and celebrations or incentives for reaching safety goals. Although the basic components of behavioral safety processes have been studied and widely documented, the current safety literature reveals several gaps in knowledge. These gaps are associated mostly with wide practice variations among the common process elements and uncertainty about the influence of organizational and other external factors.

Impact to Industry

A major objective of this paper was to highlight not only key topic areas that warrant further research, but also to propose a list of research questions that are tied to uncertainties about various intervention practices. If only a portion of these topic areas and research questions are addressed through systematic reviews, field interventions, surveys, and laboratory-based studies, then the knowledge gained will significantly improve the delivery and effectiveness of behavioral safety interventions and thus their impact on worker health and safety.