Naturalistic teenage driving study: Findings and lessons learned

• Crashes and near crashes declined over time but were four times higher than adults over the first 18 months of licensure.
• Kinematic risky driving was more than five times higher among novices than adults over the first 18 months of licensure.
• C/NC contributing factors included distraction, kinematic risky driving, low stress responsivity, and risky social norms.
• Texting; dialing, answering, locating a phone; and other non-driving tasks were riskier for novice teenagers than adults.

IntroductionThis paper summarizes the findings on novice teenage driving outcomes (e.g., crashes and risky driving behaviors) from the Naturalistic Teenage Driving Study.MethodSurvey and driving data from a data acquisition system (global positioning system, accelerometers, cameras) were collected from 42 newly licensed teenage drivers and their parents during the first 18 months of teenage licensure; stress responsivity was also measured in teenagers.ResultOverall teenage crash and near-crash (CNC) rates declined over time, but were > 4 times higher among teenagers than adults. Contributing factors to teenage CNC rates included secondary task engagement (e.g., distraction), kinematic risky driving, low stress responsivity, and risky social norms.ConclusionsThe data support the contention that the high novice teenage CNC risk is due both to inexperience and risky driving behavior, particularly kinematic risky driving and secondary task engagement.Practical ApplicationsGraduated driver licensing policy and other prevention efforts should focus on kinematic risky driving, secondary task engagement, and risky social norms.