Car accidents are the leading cause of death and injury among teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19. Research shows that when parents don't limit when, where, and how frequently their teens can drive, teens' traffic violations and car accidents increase. Research also shows that although parents are in a prime position to influence their teens' driving behaviors, many parents are less involved than they could be. Programs and instructional materials have been developed to help parents teach adolescents to drive, but few have been developed to teach parents how to manage teen driving risk. This study found that families participating in the Checkpoints Program reported imposing stricter driving limits on their teens, both when the teens got their licenses and three months later. The Checkpoints program includes a video, newsletters, and a parent-teen driving agreement that are mailed to the families.
"By restricting driving to less risky driving conditions, parents can reduce the extremely high likelihood of a crash by their teenagers during their first year of driving," said Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD. "This study shows that a simple intervention can help parents set limits on teen driving."
Earlier research on teen driving showed traffic violations were four times more likely and car crashes almost seven times more likely when parents had fewer restrictions on their teens' driving with friends as passengers. Other research found that many newly licensed teens do not report having driving restrictions, especially for high-risk driving conditions such as having other teens as passengers and driving at night.
