What Parents Need to Know About Teen Driving

You've heard of a DWI - driving while intoxicated. Maybe there should be a DWT - driving while a teenager - considering the risks involved.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for 36% of all deaths in this age group. The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash (IIHS 2006).

Here are some more sobering statistics on teen driving:

• Male teen drivers are one and a half times more likely to die in a motor vehicle accident than female teen drivers.


• When the teen is driving other teens and is unsupervised by an adult, the risk of a crash increases with the number of passengers.


• Teen drivers are most at risk of crash during their first year of driving. Crash risk is particularly high during the first year that teenagers are eligible to drive (IIHS 2006).


• Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate hazardous situations or dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations (Jonah 1987).


• Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed and to drive too closely to the car in front of them. The presence of male teenage passengers increases the likelihood of these risky driving behaviors among teen male drivers. (Simons-Morton 2005).


• Among male drivers between 15 and 20 years of age who were involved in fatal crashes in 2005, 38% were speeding at the time of the crash and 24% had been drinking (NHTSA 2006a, NHTSA 2006b).


• Teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use. Ten percent of high school students reported they rarely or never wear seat belts when riding with someone else (CDC 2006b).


• In 2005, 23% of drivers ages 15 to 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had a blood alcohol content of 0.08 g/dl or higher (NHTSA 2006b).


• In a national survey conducted in 2005, nearly 30% of teens reported that within the previous month, they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol. One in ten reported having driven after drinking alcohol within the same one-month period (CDC 2006b).


• 2005, among teen drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes after drinking and driving, 74% were not wearing a seatbelt (NHTSA 2006b).


• In 2005, half of teen deaths from motor vehicle crashes occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight and 54% occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (IIHS 2006).

What Can Parents Do?
Research suggests that the most strict and comprehensive graduated drivers licensing programs are associated with reductions of 38% and 40% in fatal and injury crashes, respectively, of 16-year-old drivers. If you are a parent in a state that does not offer these programs, get involved with groups pushing for these reforms and make sure your voice is heard.

As a parent, it is important that you understand the risk factors and proactively mitigate or completely eliminate these factors. Don't be afraid to emphasize over and over the rules of driving. It is especially important to set consequences for breaking the rules and to follow through on those consequences.

Driving privileges are just that - privileges. Your teen must continue to earn this privilege and understand that they can lose it at any time. You should make sure they understand in advance that each violation of these rules will result in a specific time period during which these privileges will be suspended.

Some of the behaviors to enforce through consequences would be:

• Insist upon your teen driver wearing a seatbelt at all times. Emphasize repeatedly that your teen WILL lose driving privileges if they or any of their passengers is seen not wearing a seatbelt.


• If your teen tends to get distracted changing CDs or playing with their IPOD, consider not having a sound system in their car. This might sound drastic, but if they are clearly focusing more on music than the road, it could prove to be a good consequence.


• Do not permit your teen to drive other teens in the car. This might be difficult to enforce, but if your teen knows that breaking this rule will result in a month's loss of driving privileges, they will think twice about it. Other teens in the car always increases risk, not only to the teens but to your financial future as you will be liable for any injuries to passengers because the driver is a minor under your control.


• Occasionally ask your teen to drive you someplace. Don't make this a "test" up front, but it certainly should be used as an opportunity to see if your teen is taking risks such as driving too closely, rolling through stop signs, racing yellow lights, or disregarding any signs on the road.


• If you ever smell alcohol on your teen's breath or suspect drug use and they have been driving, privileges should be suspended immediately. Inexperienced teen drivers under the influence are disasters waiting to happen. If you do not take this risk seriously, one day you may have to face other families whose loved ones have been injured by your teen. The potentially devastating emotional and financial impact will follow you and your teen for years to come.

Teaching teens that driving is a privilege, not a right, that demands the utmost in responsibility and care can go a long way toward creating good, responsible drivers.