After graduated driver licensing, what's next? : the role of peer influence in changing safety culture among young drivers.

Throughout the United States, more teens die in car crashes than from any other cause. And while the number of teens involved in fatal crashes has shown a downward trend in recent years, the number of deaths still exceeds 5,000 each year. Drivers aged 16 to 19 travel fewer miles than other drivers, but they are disproportionally responsible for more crashes. The severity of this public health crisis strongly suggests that it cannot be effectively addressed through any single countermeasure. The solution toolbox must include proper training, effective laws, consistent enforcement of those laws and parental involvement. In addition, recent experience in Texas suggests that peer influence is another invaluable tool to reduce the frequency of teen car crashes. This tool, as demonstrated by the Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) program, can be coupled with effective Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws to deliver an effective one-two punch in the fight to reverse the young driver crash epidemic. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E220164.