For North Dakota teens, three of every four deaths are from motor vehiclecrashes. Injury crash records for teen drivers were studied to gain insight regarding driver, vehicle, and road factors for public safety policy and program discussions. Results show 14-year-old drivers are three times more likely to die or be disabled in an injury crash than 17-year-old drivers, and that male drivers are 30% less likely to incur severe injury. As expected, seat belt use is a critical factor in severe injury avoidance. Thelikelihood for death or disablement is 165% greater for unbelted teen drivers than for those who are properly belted. In addition, rural and gravelroads pose a risk. Teens are six times more likely to be severely injuredin crashes on rural roads than on urban roads. Findings suggest that an increased licensing age and seat belt emphasis may reduce teen traffic injuries in the state. In addition, more information on exposure should be attained to better understand rural and gravel road as risks. (A) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Abstract