Teen driver. Two words that elicit immediate attention, whether you are a parent, health care provider, insurance professional or public official responsible for improving highway safety. And that attention is for good reason — motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year-olds. Teens aged 15 to 20 are significantly overrepresented in all types of traffic crashes. Just over 6% of all licensed drivers, teens in this age group accounted for 12% of all drivers in fatal crashes and 14% of drivers in all crashes in 2008. The over-involvement of teens in traffic crashes makes it a topic of obvious concern. Because young people are lost to death and debilitating injury before having a chance to live a full life, teen drivers are often the focus of legislative, media, enforcement, and educational efforts to improve safety. Some of these efforts may improve safety for teen drivers; others are less likely to do so. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and State Farm Insurance® convened an Expert Panel on Teen Driving to sift through and identify programs and policies most likely to improve driver safety outcomes for teens. The result of the Panel’s work is the development of this Guidebook for State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) to assist in their efforts with teens and others who influence them. While many organizations have a role in teen driver safety, SHSOs can be leaders by directly promoting policies and funding programs that have been proven through research or evaluation to decrease teen death and injury on our highways. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting