Which Action Is Known To Reduce Speeding In Teens

Ask the right questions. Go to the Driving School Association of the Americas’ driving school index for more information on professional driving schools in your state. Parents should also seek driver education programs that meet or exceed the Novice Teen Driver Education and Training Administrative Standards. Drowsy driving includes more than just falling asleep. It affects a driver’s alertness, attention, reaction time, judgement, and decision-making capabilities. Those who are at higher risk for a crash caused by drowsy driving include drivers 17-23 years old, and those who sleep less than six hours a night, drive on rural roads, or who drive between midnight and 6 a.m. Make sure your teen gets a good night’s sleep, and strictly monitor and limit their nighttime driving as your state’s GDL law stipulates. Your teen’s friends, passengers, and other drivers will thank them for driving safely. NHTSA research tells us that immaturity and inexperience are primary factors contributing to these deadly crashes. Both lead to high-risk behavior behind the wheel: driving at nighttime, driving after drinking any amount of alcohol, and driving distracted by passengers and electronic devices.

While GDL laws have proven effective, they can be difficult to enforce. Imagine the challenges police face determining your teen driver’s age from afar after 9 p.m. That’s why your oversight is so important. Set driving ground rules with your teen and explain the consequences for breaking them; then get it in writing using a contract like the Parent-Teen Driving Contract (PDF, 1.55 MB). Most importantly: Enforce the rules.

Because GDL laws vary, it is essential to find out your own state’s GDL law. While you’re at it, check out your licensing agency’s website for the driver manual your teen reads and a parent guide to supervised driving.As a parent, you are the number one influence on your teen driver’s safety. Self-reported surveys show that teens whose parents impose driving restrictions and set good examples typically engage in less risky driving and are involved in fewer crashes. After spending years protecting your children from all sorts of dangers on the road and off, you now face the prospect of handing them the keys to the family car. It is time for them to learn how to drive. Are you prepared? We can help you develop your teen’s driving ability. GDL laws vary from state to state, but all GDL approaches consist of three stages, identified by the type of license, provisions, and restrictions. Novice drivers 15 to 18 years old must demonstrate responsible driving behavior during each stage of licensing before advancing to the next level.

If lucky enough to survive a crash as an impaired driver, your teenager will face the consequences of breaking the law. Those include a possible trip to jail, the loss of his or her driver’s license, and dozens of other expenses including attorney fees, court costs, other fines, and insurance hikes. Your teen will also stand to lose academic eligibility, college acceptance, and scholarship awards.Driver’s education programs are designed to teach teen drivers the rules of the road and to help them become safe drivers so they can acquire the necessary driving skills to prepare for and pass the road driving test and, ultimately, obtain a driver’s license. Formal driver education programs exist in almost every jurisdiction in the United States. These programs generally mirror states’ specific driving requirements, which assure novice drivers are being taught information relevant to state requirements. The graduated driver licensing (GDL) system, which identifies driver education as an important component, gives novice drivers experience under adult supervision and protection by gradually introducing the novice driver to more complex driving situations. In fact, multiple studies report that GDL systems reduce the number of teen crashes. But the learning doesn’t stop there. As a parent, it’s essential that you take a proactive role in keeping your teen alive and injury-free throughout the early years of their driving education. Your teen sees a driver’s license as a step toward freedom, but you might not be sure your teen is ready for the road. One thing is certain: teens aren’t ready to have the same level of driving responsibility as adults. Teen drivers have a higher rate of fatal crashes, mainly because of their immaturity, lack of skills, and lack of experience. They speed, they make mistakes, and they get distracted easily – especially if their friends are in the car. To help your teen stay safe behind the wheel, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have a three-stage graduated driver licensing (GDL) system that limits high-risk driving situations for new drivers. This approach can reduce your teen’s crash risk by as much as 50%. Speeding is a critical safety issue for teen drivers. In 2021, it was a factor in 32% of the passenger vehicle teen drivers (15-18 years old) involved in fatal crashes. A study by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) found that from 2000-2011, teens were involved in 19,447 speeding-related crashes. There is also evidence from naturalistic driving studies that teens’ speeding behavior increases over time, possibly as they gain confidence (Klauer et al., 2011; Simons-Morton et al., 2013). Teens should especially be aware of their speed during inclement weather, when they may need to reduce their speed, or with other road conditions, like traffic stops or winding roads.Share this fact sheet on alcohol and driving with your teenagers and make sure they know the consequences of breaking your state laws on drunk and drugged driving.

These days, teens are busier than ever: studying, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and spending time with friends are among the long list of things they do to fill their time. However, with all of these activities, teens tend to compromise on something very important—sleep. This is a dangerous habit that can lead to drowsy driving. In fact, in 2021, drowsy driving claimed 684 lives, and some studies even suggest drowsiness may have been involved in more than 10-20 percent of fatal or injury crashes. Teen drivers are involved in vehicle crashes not because they are uninformed about the basic rules of the road or safe driving practices; rather, studies show teens are involved in crashes as a result of inexperience and risk-taking. Teen drivers, particularly 16- and 17-year-olds, have high fatal crash rates because of their immaturity and limited driving experience, which often result in high-risk behavior behind the wheel. Peer pressure is an especially potent factor. In a recent NHTSA study, teens were two-and-a-half times more likely to engage in potentially risky behavior when driving with a teenage peer versus driving alone. The likelihood increased to three times when traveling with multiple passengers. You may be excited to start driving and become more independent, however you need to understand that driving is a lifelong learning process. Those first years are very important for you to build a solid foundation of safe driving habits. If you are 15 to 18 years old, you need to know that car crashes are a leading cause of death for people your age. The greatest dangers that lead to those fatalities include alcohol, inconsistent seat belt use, speeding and distracted driving. Also, limit your passengers because they can be a distraction.

In a study analyzed by NHTSA, teen drivers were two-and-a-half times more likely to engage in one or more potentially risky behaviors when driving with one teenage peer, compared to when driving alone. According to the same study analyzed by NHTSA, the likelihood of teen drivers engaging in one or more risky behaviors when traveling with multiple passengers increased to three times compared to when driving alone. In fact, research shows that the risk of a fatal crash goes up in direct relation to the number of teenagers in the car.Traffic crashes are a leading cause of death for teens. Impairment, passengers, distractions from mobile phones and navigation systems, speeding, and not wearing a seat belt are among the major contributing factors to the number of teen injuries and fatalities on our nation’s roads each year. In light of a nationwide increase in passenger vehicle-related fatalities, NHTSA is stepping up its teen safety efforts.

No matter how boring it might seem, listen to your parents, learn and follow the rules and educate yourself so you can create safe driving habits that may save your life, or the life of your passengers or others on the road.Novice teen drivers are twice as likely as adult drivers to be in a fatal crash. There was a 13% increase in passenger vehicle driver fatalities of 15- to 18-year-olds between 2012 and 2021.

To combat drowsy driving, parents should make sure that their teens get sufficient sleep at night by establishing and enforcing a regular bedtime, as well as limiting the use of electronic devices before bed. It has been well-documented that teens on average get far too little sleep on a regular basis, and this can jeopardize their ability to safely and effectively drive a motor vehicle. Too little sleep can also impact their performance in the classroom and during extracurricular activities.Remind your teen that underage drinking is illegal, and driving under the influence of any impairing substance – including illicit, over-the-counter, and prescription drugs – could have deadly consequences. Drinking alcohol under the age of 21 is illegal in every state—inside or outside of a vehicle. Drunk-driving laws are always strictly enforced, and many states have zero-tolerance laws, meaning that there can be no trace of alcohol or illegal drugs in your system at any time. Let your teen know: Law enforcement officers will be able to test for these substances.

A study by Liberty Mutual and SADD found that parents are setting a poor example for teens by engaging in unsafe driving behaviors, such as texting and driving, and are not listening to their kids’ warnings. Forty-one percent of teens say their parents continue these unsafe behaviors even after their teens ask them to stop, and 28% of teens say their parents justify unsafe behavior.

Many states require parents to certify their teens have completed a certain amount of supervised driving practice – usually 40 to 50 hours – before they qualify for an intermediate license. Other states require a 6- to 12-month holding period. It’s a good idea to keep a daily log of your teen’s driving activities.

Talk to your teen about alcohol and drug use and driving. Establish a no-alcohol-or-drugs rule, set consequences, and enforce them. Remind your teen to never ride with someone who has been drinking or using drugs. Make sure he or she understands that you will always pick them up regardless of time or location.Show your teen the grim stats. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teens are more likely than anyone else to be killed in an alcohol-related crash. Even though the minimum legal drinking age in every state is 21, data shows 19% of 15- to 18-year-old passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2021 had been drinking. Drugs other than alcohol – illicit as well as prescribed and over-the-counter – can affect your teen’s driving, so be sure you and your teen talk about driving and drug use, too.Under our Teen Driving topic, you’ll find resources about safe driving behaviors and Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws developed for parents and caregivers of teens.

Most state GDL laws restrict the number of passengers that can ride in a car driven by a teen. Passengers distract an inexperienced teen driver who should be focused only on the road, increasing the likelihood of a crash. If your state does not have passenger restrictions (FL, IA, MS, SD, and ND), establish rules with your teen about who can ride with them and how many people they can have in their car at one time. Make sure your teen follows the rules you set at all times.Tragically, seat belt use is lowest among teen drivers. In fact, the majority of teenagers involved in fatal crashes are unbuckled. In 2021, 51% of teen drivers who died were unbuckled. Even more troubling, when the teen driver involved in the fatal crash was unbuckled, nine out of 10 of the passengers who died were also unbuckled. As teens start driving and gradually gain independence, they don’t always make the smartest decisions regarding their safety. They may think they are invincible, that they don’t need seat belts. They may have a false notion that they have the right to choose whether or not to buckle up.

A rigorous 20-county control group analysis for Texas indicates the program results in an average decrease of 14.6 percent in injury and fatal crashes (total) where the program has been sustained for three or more years.Teens in the Driver Seat® program surveys show awareness levels increasing by up to 200 percent in all risk areas. Cell phone use at Teens in the Driver Seat® program schools has dropped by 30%, and seat belt use has gone up by 14%. Over 1,800 schools now have implemented the Teens in the Driver Seat® program, reaching over 1.5 million teens. The program has also been deployed in 38 states outside Texas. Teens in the Driver Seatis an initiative under the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program. YTS seeks to save lives and reduce injuries among America’s youth by developing and delivering the nation’s most comprehensive suite of transportation safety programs and projects.Because of the positive results shown in numerous studies, TDS has won dozens of awards (including eight national awards) and has been recognized as a national best-practice model four times by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Governors Highway Safety Association, and the National Safety Council.

Car crashes are a leading cause of death for young people, accounting for nearly 1/3 of all teen deaths in America each year. Since 2012, about 2,700 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes; that’s the equivalent of a school bus loaded with teenagers crashing once every week for an entire school year. Started in 2002, Teens in the Driver Seat is the first peer-to-peer program for teens that focuses solely on traffic safety and addresses all major risks for this age group. Teens in the Driver Seat is available to high schools in 15 states. Additionally, the junior high school program is available in Georgia, Nebraska, and Texas.The most common causes of teen driving crashes are the ones that young drivers (and their parents) know the least about. Combined with a lack of driving experience, the top five dangers are:

The contractile or extrafusal muscle fibers are the characteristic cells of the muscle. They has been multinucleated cells, and large and very elongated, they are measuring from a 5 millimeters to 30 cm in length.

The various taste sensations that the taste buds can feel include sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. On the taste bud, not all receptor cells sense the same taste i.e. some cells may bear sweet taste while others may bear another taste.Before going towards the answer, we need know what Interpersonal or Social Skills actually are. Interpersonal skills are the ability of a person to communicate with others and be aware of his own internal abilities. Important interpersonal skills include verbal and non verbal communication, negotiation, problem solving, listening skills, decision making, etc. When a person is good at interpersonal skills, he can speak his heart out and can communicate with others and make them understand what he thinks or wants. If he fails to communicate, he would get depressed. He would feel like heavy from inside that leads to severe depression for him. It is commonly noticed that when a person speaks his heart out, he feels calm and at peace but if he can’t, he feels so depressed, discourage and disheartened.When people experience positive social interactions they should be more likely to feel a sense of belonging. … Depressed people also appear to induce negative affect in others, which, in turn, elicits rejection and the loss of socially rewarding opportunitiesRepeated stories often represent highly significant memories. The person may repeat themselves because they want to communicate and cannot find anything else to say. The person might have become ‘stuck’ on a particular word, phrase or action.

Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.Pls help Your 16 year old cousin is starting an exercise program because he has been gaining weight. What should be the first step he takes before beginning this new exercise program? Get a check up with his doctor Perform a proper warm up and cool down Purchase a new set of workout clothes Visit the local gym

common warts are actually an infection in the top layer of skin, caused by viruses in the human papillomavirus, or HPV, family. When the virus invades this outer layer of skin, usually through a tiny scratch, it causes rapid growth of cells on the outer layer of skin – creating the wart.

Cilia are responsible for moving mucus out of the lungs, so if they are paralyzed, that process cannot occur. There is a medical condition for this called emphysema.The characteristics of fast twitch muscle fibers is that the people have two general types of skeletal muscle fiber and these are slow-twitch (type I) and fast-twitch (type II). The slow-twitch muscles help to enable the long-endurance feats such as the distance running, while fast-twitch muscles fatigue faster but are used in powerful bursts of movements like sprinting. Major Depressive Disorder MDD is simply called as Depression. When a person feels low and down for a constant period of two weeks, he or she is said to be depressed. A person feels low in almost every situation and this phase is constant for more than two weeks. Main symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder are low self esteem, Low energy, Fatigued most of the times, Feelings of hopelessness, Loss of interest in entertaining situations, irritability, sad mood, Moving slowly, talking slow or with low energy, etc. If this state continues, it can lead to other major depressive disorders like maniac, bipolar etc. They may experience difficulty nodding off or may wake up habitually amid the night or promptly in the first part of the day. … A sleeping disorder has numerous potential causes, including pressure, uneasiness, melancholy, poor rest propensities, circadian mood issue, (for example, stream slack), and taking certain meds. Wheezing. Numerous grown-ups wheeze.(snore)Because it helps you better understand what that person is going threw. what to expect from each stage. what to and not to say are do and how to help the person that’s suffering cope with what there facing.

Therefore, The characteristics of fast twitch muscle fibers is that the people have two general types of skeletal muscle fiber and these are slow-twitch (type I) and fast-twitch (type II). The slow-twitch muscles help to enable the long-endurance feats such as the distance running, while fast-twitch muscles fatigue faster but are used in powerful bursts of movements like sprinting. Muscle tissue has been defined as the fiber which is responsible for the movement of the organisms as well as their organs. It has been formed by cells called myocytes or muscle fibers. Muscle fibers have individual characteristics that they give them a certain specialization, and although they have been combined modalities of speed, power and endurance, in general one of them predominates over the others.

For more than two decades, speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities. In 2021, speeding was a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities.Some people drive aggressively because they have too much to do and are “running late” for work, school, their next meeting, lesson, soccer game, or other appointment.Speed also affects your safety even when you are driving at the speed limit but too fast for road conditions, such as during bad weather, when a road is under repair, or in an area at night that isn’t well lit.

Traffic congestion is one of the most frequently mentioned contributing factors to aggressive driving, such as speeding. Drivers may respond by using aggressive driving behaviors, including speeding, changing lanes frequently, or becoming angry at anyone who they believe impedes their progress.Finally, NHTSA works with national law enforcement partners, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, and the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement to heighten awareness of the speeding problem in the United States and deliver effective enforcement countermeasures to combat it.If it seems that there are more cases of rude and outrageous behavior on the road now than in the past, the observation is correct—if for no other reason than there are more drivers driving more miles on the same roads than ever before.Speeding behavior and aggressive drivers may not only affect the speeder—it can also affect other drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Here are some tips for encountering speeders on the road:Speeding endangers everyone on the road: In 2021, speeding killed 12,330 people. We all know the frustrations of modern life and juggling a busy schedule, but speed limits are put in place to protect all road users. Learn about the dangers of speeding and why faster doesn’t mean safer.Speeding endangers not only the life of the speeder, but all of the people on the road around them, including law enforcement officers. It is a problem we all need to help solve. NHTSA works with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration to provide the roadmap, tools, guidance, and resources for state and local governments to use in designing and applying a balanced and effective speed management program. Speed management involves the following: To promote this strategy, NHTSA delivers a Speed Management Program course to state and local jurisdictions. The course uses a multidisciplinary approach to address speeding problems in states and local communities.Most motorists rarely drive aggressively, and some never do. For others, episodes of aggressive driving are frequent, and for a small proportion of motorists it is their usual driving behavior. Occasional episodes of aggressive driving–such as speeding and changing lanes abruptly–might occur in response to specific situations, like when the driver is late for an important appointment, but is not the driver’s normal behavior.

He expressed originality & he was first in doing alot of things that are well-known today. He made it seem OK to teens to express themselves as Elvis did.Negative peer pressure can steer teenagers astray. It may lead them to experiment with alcohol or drugs, skip school, or engage in other risky behaviors that endanger their health.

Despite their state laws, parents should include speed management and aggressive driving in their house rules for driving with their newly licensed teens. This includes slowing down in heavy traffic, in inclement weather, and when faced with road construction and other hazards.Since the repeal of the National Maximum Speed Limit in 1995, states determine their own speeding laws to set speed limits on their roadways. In many states, maximum speeds vary depending on:In most cases to be considered aggressive, a driver must demonstrate more than one action as to endanger other persons or property. Besides speeding, these actions include running red lights or stop signs, preventing other drivers from passing, and illegal driving on the shoulder.

Let teens know that state speeding and aggressive driving laws are only a guide for optimal driving conditions. Learning to manage speed based on road conditions and other factors takes time to develop and is a skill that they will need throughout their lives to stay safe.For more than two decades, speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities. In 2020, speeding was a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities. From 2015-2019, 15,510 teen drivers ages 16-19 were involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes, with more than one-third of those crashes involving speeding. Speeding, or going too fast for road conditions, is a reckless behavior known to increase the likelihood of injury or death if a crash occurs, especially for newly licensed teens. Following speeding laws can help keep teen drivers safe.

To support stronger speeding and aggressive driving laws in your state, the first step is knowing what’s currently in place. Visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Traffic Safety (IIHS) website for a regularly updated state-by-state guide to speeding laws. Beyond speeding laws, a growing number of states consider speeding part of a range of unsafe behaviors comprising aggressive driving, with added fines and penalties: Speeding is also one of the driver behaviors that impact the driver’s DRIVE risk score. Motive’s fleet safety solution automates post-trip coaching using video to correct driver behaviors based on the trends observed on the trip.Truck drivers keep to a tight schedule. They face limits on the number of hours they can drive and when they need to take breaks, yet they also want to complete deliveries on time. As a result, a poorly planned route can contribute to trucker speeding. In 2019, 5,005 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes, up 2% from 2018. In the same time period, the large truck involvement rate (large trucks involved in fatal crashes per 100 million miles traveled by large trucks) increased 4% from 1.61 to 1.67, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Any vehicle going too fast is at greater risk of a crash. Commercial vehicles, in particular, because of their size and high center of gravity and weight, take longer to stop and can be tipped or thrown off balance by turns when speeding. A truck can jackknife when the speeding driver has a heavy load that shifts during transport and the truck is unstable. Additionally, commercial trucks are more likely to cause a severe collision.You’ll probably cover distracted driving when onboarding your commercial fleet. Still, even the best drivers can slip into high-risk behaviors, negatively affecting your fleet risk management. That’s when a driver safety solution can help.

Plus, Motive’s advanced event intelligence and in-house safety team analyzes dashcam videos within seconds of incidents to provide a greater understanding of context and severity.

AI dashcams can help fleets stop accidents and proactively detect unsafe driving such as speeding, and can instantly alert drivers to modify their behaviors.

Another common question is: “Can fleets face action over speeding drivers?” A lawyer filing suit after a truck accident will typically bring the initial suit against the speeding truck driver’s company. Determining liability for the different parties will be part of the legal action. Top questions that need answers include whether the truck driver was operating the vehicle conscientiously and if there were any equipment-based or mechanical malfunctions.The speeding driver may not even realize that they’re speeding when driving distracted. A driver talking on a cell phone or eating while driving can unwittingly pick up speed.

Additionally, you can use the dashcam video evidence to protect innocent drivers and avoid the fallout for your fleet from a potential nuclear verdict.Motive builds technology to improve the safety, productivity, and profitability of businesses that power the physical economy. The Motive Automated Operations Platform combines IoT hardware with AI-powered applications to automate vehicle and equipment tracking, driver safety, compliance, maintenance, spend management, and more. Motive serves more than 120,000 businesses, across a wide range of industries including trucking and logistics, construction, oil and gas, food and beverage, field service, agriculture, passenger transit, and delivery. Visit gomotive.com to learn more.

Drivers recognize that speeding is a safety concern. Yet, in a survey by the National Safety Council, 64% still said they’re “comfortable speeding.” This attitude needs to change.

As a result, Motive customers have reduced accidents by up to 30% through real-time in-cab alerting, automated post-trip coaching, and predictive insights from the DRIVE risk score.According to the American Trucking Associations, “A truck traveling at 75 mph consumes 27% more fuel than one going 65 mph; so limiting truck speed to 65 mph would save 2.8 billion gals.”

At Mohawk Materials, GPS tracking has made for a more efficient operation. “Before, my plant managers would have to call to ask where the truck is and would have to wait 30 minutes for the next refresh to give an update,” says owner Wes Beck. “Now, they don’t have to call me at all. They can check right on their phone and find out where that truck is.”Commercial vehicle speeding can cause accidents and increase fleet costs. It doesn’t help the industry’s reputation either. Fleet and compliance managers actively promote safety solutions to combat speeding concerns. But talking about it isn’t enough. This article addresses technology that helps fleets monitor, analyze, and take action on driver behavior.

Installing GPS tracking technology can easily improve route planning. Real-time tracking and maps give managers the ability to proactively reroute trucks based on road and weather conditions and vehicle location. Sharing vehicle locations also enables accurate ETA calculation and can support exceptional customer service by providing real-time alerts along the way.The ability to geofence or create virtual boundaries can also raise driver awareness when they’re in a school or construction zone. They’ll receive alerts to remind them to drive with greater care, at slower speeds. Driver feedback is a system for providing real-time warnings of poor driving, hazardous conditions, or other potential risks. For example, this technology might recognize curves in the road or departure from a lane and alert the driver to make corrections to speed and steering. This type of technology could also be used to control misuse of entertainment systems, which can be very distracting for teen (and other) drivers. The Checkpoints program is based on the goals of changing both parents’ and teens’ perception of their risk, as well as their expectations regarding reasonable limitations—in order to decrease risky driving, traffic violations, and crashes. Although initial results for Checkpoints are positive, Simons-Morton noted, additional research on changes in novice driving performance over the first 18 months of driving, on the nature and effects of supervised driving, on other ways to deliver support and improve parental management, and on ways to incorporate findings about the process of learning to drive into driver education and testing and licensure programs would be of great benefit.

Without a doubt, intensified and improved efforts using existing strategies could yield further improvements in safety, but they offer only partial solutions to the fundamental problem—allowing young people to learn driving skills and gain experience behind the wheel without risking their lives. Many of the strategies already discussed address ways in which adults might either persuade or compel teens to behave differently or improve the training they receive or the quality of their practice time behind the wheel. Technology offers a very powerful companion strategy with significant potential to make driving safer not just for novices but for all drivers. Max Donath, Wade Allen, and John Lee described some of the technological innovations with particular promise.

Simons-Morton summarized the more specific ways in which parents can influence teen driving and their potential effects on safety. Two things they can do have demonstrated safety benefits: delaying permission to test for a driving license and controlling access to the vehicles and driving circumstances (such as night driving and carrying passengers) for novice drivers. When it comes to drinking and driving, the role of parents is complex, and Simons-Morton noted that the example parents set may far outweigh other messages they attempt to send. Moreover, parents may believe they have explained what their children should do if they find themselves in a situation that involves drinking and driving, but teens report that they are not sure.Policies, laws, and other strategies can clearly affect teens’ driving behavior and their safety. Data presented on the effects of graduated driver licensing and minimum drinking age laws, for example, demonstrate that injury and fatality rates are not immutable, despite the fact that, as Robert Foss pointed out, human beings are difficult to change. This chapter first describes strategies already in place and then explores additional strategies, such as greater parental engagement in supervising teen drivers, that offer potential to significantly increase safe driving behaviors among teens.As with the drinking laws, however, McCartt and others noted that GDL programs would be more effective if enforcement—both by parents and law enforcement officials—was tougher. GDL in particular depends on parents to enforce many of its provisions, both to supervise their children for the required number of driving hours and to monitor their adherence to passenger and night-driving restrictions. Moreover, while the value of traditional driver education has come into question, ways to improve it and link it to GDL provisions have not yet become a primary focus for states.

Computer-based instruction can be delivered on a desktop computer (the least expensive model), in a console simulator or a more complex display system, or by means of a portable computer installed in a vehicle that is equipped with a virtual reality headset (the car’s wheels are placed on turntables so the learner can operate the steering wheel). Although the costs increase significantly with the complexity of the hardware, the face validity—that is, the extent to which the simulated experience resembles a real-life experience—is likely to correspond to the sophistication of the hardware as well.Reporting behavior is a system for col
lecting data about driver performance that can either be saved for later review by parents or other driving supervisors or transmitted in real time so that parents have the option to intervene. The driving “report card” might include data on speed, acceleration, braking, throttle use, and time and location of the trip, which can allow parents to supervise their teen’s driving even when they are not physically present. Such programs may be initiated through novel features, such as cell phones or web sites that use GPS to report phone or vehicle location, speed and direction of travel, and time of day on a routine basis.