Many studies have shown that young driver crash rates can be influenced by such factors as lifestyle characteristics and licensing systems. However the influence of parents on their teenage children's crash and violation rates has not received much attention. The present study used data from the North Carolina driver history file to match the crash and violation records of children ages 18-21 with those of their parents. Results indicate that children's driving records in the first few years of licensure are related to the driving records of their parents. Children whose parents had 3 or more crashes on their record were 22 percent more likely to have had a violation compared with children whose parents had none. Logistic regression models showed that these relationships held when controlling for household type and child gender. (A)
Abstract