A complex array of physical and cognitive abilities that are still developing in teenagers. Moreover, driving is a skill that adolescents need to learn - the aim of public health efforts is not to prevent the activity altogether (as it is with many other public health initiatives) but to help teens do it more responsibly. Consequently, an understanding of teenage driving would be enhanced by a systematic review of contributions from the behavioural, cognitive, social, health, and biological sciences. These disciplines have shed light on distinctive aspects of teenagers: their approach to risk assessment, learning processes, skill development, brain functioning, reward incentives, and interactions with peers and adults. Applying this understanding to the development of prevention strategies holds significant promise for improving safety. While many fields of research have already produced studies that are relevant to this topic, this body of knowledge has not been synthesized in ways that allow key findings to be applied effectively in policy and practice. Furthermore, opportunities for collaboration among researchers from diverse fields to address questions about teenage driving are rare. Research studies are often published in specialized journals that are not widely read by others working in different disciplines or diverse professional environments, and current citation indexing systems make it difficult to integrate research from fields as diverse as public health, traffic safety, adolescent development, and social psychology. To address this void, the Board on Children, Youth, and Families, under the auspices of the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, and in collaboration with the Transportation Research Board, formed the Committee on Contributions from the Behavioural and Social Sciences in Reducing and Preventing Teen Motor Crashes to plan a workshop at which experts from the relevant fields could share information and consider ways to put their combined expertise to work. The committee met in person and collaborated extensively by phone and electronic mail to review the kinds of evidence that are available and identify objectives for the workshop as well as the experts who could best help meet them. The committee was not charged with developing specific recommendations regarding ways to reduce teen motor crashes, but rather with exploring three questions: 1. How do theories and evidence from the behavioural, cognitive, social, health, and biological sciences inform understanding of both the risk factors that increase teen motor vehicle crashes and the protective factors that reduce such crashes? 2. How can theories and evidence from the behavioural, cognitive, social, health, and biological sciences inform improved prevention, program, and policy interventions to reduce risky teen motor vehicle driving behaviours, as well as promote responsible teen driving? 3. What research and interventions are most likely to advance teen motor vehicle safety over the short and the long term? The workshop planned to address these questions, held May 15 and 16, 2006, assembled a multidisciplinary group who shared information and insights on topics ranging from adolescent development to emerging technology for studying, monitoring, and controlling driving behaviour. The workshop program was structured to bring together researchers who had not addressed studies of teen driving, but who might have unique insights in the field of adolescent development and other areas of social and behavioural research, with experts who have deep experience in the field of highway safety. Presenters laid out aspects of the problem and addressed some of the challenges that face policy makers, and participants engaged in extensive discussion of the implications of the data presented and possible ways forward. A workshop agenda and a complete list of participants appear in the appendix to this report. This report documents the information presented at the workshop and the discussions that took place. Its purpose is to lay out the key ideas that emerged from the workshop, both for researchers interested in interdisciplinary work in this area and for those who are involved in developing prevention strategies. The report should be viewed as only a first step in exploring opportunities to develop a synthesis of diverse research and applying this knowledge to the problem of preventing teen crashes, and it is confined to the material presented by the workshop speakers. Neither the workshop nor this report is intended as a comprehensive review of what is known about teen driving. Many important topics - such as the potential of insurance incentives or law enforcement practices to strengthen prevention strategies - were not addressed in the limited time available for the workshop. A more comprehensive review and synthesis of relevant research knowledge, including lessons learned from the experiences of other countries, will have to wait for further development. The report is organized to provide both an overview of the factual information that was presented as well as insights that emerged about the role that researchers can play in reducing and preventing teen motor vehicle crashes. Chapter 2 provides an exploration of teen crashes, how they happen, and the risk factors that contribute to them. Chapter 3 addresses specific features of adolescence that may play a role in the way teenagers drive and their high crash risk. Chapter 4 explores the strategies already being used to improve teenagers' safety on the road, as well as promising strategies not yet being fully implemented. The report closes with a discussion of future directions. Chapter 5 addresses both the need for ongoing research to address pressing questions that have not yet been resolved or have emerged from technological developments, as well as the vital importance of coordinating and capitalizing on an already impressive body of knowledge about teen driving. (Author/publisher)
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