New York Teen Drivers Influenced by Parents

Car accidents involving teen drivers is a serious problem. Every year, more than 5,000 drivers, ages 16 to 20, are killed in car accidents. A 2008 report to Congress by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that in 2006, young drivers had 59.5 fatal crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers. In 2006, half of the young drivers killed in traffic accidents were unrestrained.

According to the Just Drive! Program, which focuses on parents and teens, teen drivers usually copy their parents’ bad driving behavior. A survey was conducted by Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin to get a better understanding of the perceptions teens and their parents had about their own driving habits and each others.

The survey showed that the major influencer on teen driving habits was in fact their parents. Almost 70 percent of teens who were surveyed said that their parents influenced them in how to drive. Unfortunately, parents do not always show the best driving behavior. According to the survey, parents have the same distractions as teens, including talking on a cell phone, listening to music, speeding and following too closely behind other vehicles.

When parents and teens were asked to list the top five distractions when driving, both groups came up with the same distractions and all of the participants said they had done one of the following in the last 30 days:

• Changing the music (radio station, tape or CD)
• Speeding
• Driving without both hands on the steering wheel
• Talking on the phone
• Eating

Close to 90 percent of those surveyed said that they, a family member or close friend had experienced a car crash, but more than 50 percent said they did not change their driving behavior as a result.

Researchers also found that just over 40 percent of teen drivers said they do not drive differently with their friends than when they are with their parents. Almost all of the survey participants (90 percent) agreed that teens are often distracted while driving.

*Source: Just Drive! – Driving Research and Statistics