Young Driver Intervention Study: Preventing Motor Vehicle Crashes

Young Driver Intervention Study: Preventing Motor Vehicle Crashes Among Young Drivers

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a program designed to reduce teen crashes and risky driving by increasing parental monitoring and restriction of their adolescents' driving practices during the first year of licensed driving.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Health Behavior; Accidents, Traffic
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Teen Driving: Program for parents

Detailed Description

Motor vehicle crashes are the major cause of death and disability among adolescents from 16 through 20 years of age. While adolescents between the ages of 16 and 19 years constitute only 5% of all licensed drivers, they are involved in 15% of the crashes in which they or other occupants are killed. In fact, 16-year-old drivers are more than 20 times as likely to have a crash as the general population of drivers and 17-year-olds are more than 6 times as likely. In addition, for each adolescent motor vehicle fatality, approximately 100 nonfatal injuries occur, making crashes the leading cause of disability due to head and spinal cord injuries in adolescents.

Parents can have a huge impact on adolescent behavior. However, the impact of parenting practices on adolescent driving behavior has not yet been examined. This study aims to determine the efficacy of an intervention designed to increase parents' involvement in, and parental restrictions on, their teens' early driving experiences in order to reduce the number of tickets and crashes among teen drivers. The intervention provides educational materials to parents and adolescents from the time the adolescent gets a learner's permit through the first 6 months of licensure. These persuasive communications are tailored to adolescents' level of driving experience. The intervention materials make explicit the increased risk associated with adolescent driving and methods for reducing risk through increased parental involvement in and restriction of driving.

Participants were recruited in the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicle offices as adolescents applied for their learner's permits. Participants were randomized to either the intervention group or the control group. The control group received standard information about driving not related to the specific teen risks focused on in the intervention group materials. All participants completed interviews at study entry, licensure, 3 months after licensure, 6 months after licensure, and 12 months after licensure. Parents were asked about their expectations and parenting practices regarding their adolescents' driving behaviors. Adolescents were asked about their driving practices and their parents' rules and restrictions regarding driving. The driving records for each adolescent were obtained from the state motor vehicle administration and examined 18 months after licensure.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 3743
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years to 16 years (CHILD)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria

• Lives with parent/guardian at least 50% of the time
• Obtains learner's driving permit
• Family members are able to complete interviews in English

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: FACTORIAL
• Masking: SINGLE

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
OTHER: Teen Driving: Program for parents; A behavioral intervention targeting driving risks unique to young drivers, including completing a behavioral contract, was administered to the intervention group. The control group received safety information appropriate for new drivers.	Behavioral: Teen Driving: Program for parents; A behavioral intervention targeting driving risks unique to young drivers, including completing a behavioral contract, was administered to the intervention group. The control group received safety information appropriate for new drivers.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Risky Driving	17 item assessment of engaging in risky driving behaviors.	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Collaborators: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Bruce Simons-Morton, EdD, MPH, Prevention Research Branch, Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Prevention Research, NICHD

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Simons-Morton BG, Hartos JL. How well do parents manage young driver crash risks? J Safety Res. 2003 Jan;34(1):91-7. doi: 10.1016/s0022-4375(02)00085-3.
• Simons-Morton BG, Hartos JL, Leaf WA. Promoting parental management of teen driving. Inj Prev. 2002 Sep;8 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):ii24-30; discussion ii30-1. doi: 10.1136/ip.8.suppl_2.ii24.
• Simons-Morton BG. Reducing young driver crash risk. Inj Prev. 2002 Sep;8 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):ii1-2. doi: 10.1136/ip.8.suppl_2.ii1. No abstract available.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 1998
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): September 1, 2000
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): September 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 17, 2003
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 17, 2003
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): June 18, 2003

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): September 25, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 24, 2014
• Last Verified: September 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Health Education; Parenting; Teen driving; Adolescent risk behavior; Checkpoints Program
• Other Study ID Numbers: N01HD83285; Z01HD001707-01 (NIH); N01-HD-8-3285