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Teenagers have the lowest rate of safety belt use and the highest crash rate compared to other age groups. Past studies on teenagers' belt use have mostly been cross-sectional. The first goals of this study were to examine, at licensure, teenagers' and parents' perceptions of risk of crash/injury for newly licensed teenagers when driving unbelted and teenagers' perceived and parents' intended consequences for safety belt rule violations. In addition, the comparability of these variables to other risky driving behaviors was explored. The second goal was to evaluate the importance of these variables in the prediction of teenagers' belt use during the first year of licensure, relative to other factors related to belt use, including demographics and substance use.More than 2,000 parent-teenager dyads were interviewed by telephone, parents at permit and licensure and teenagers at permit, licensure, and 3, 6, and 12 months after licensure.Approximately a third of the teenagers reported at least once at 3, 6, or 12 months post-licensure not always using their safety belt in the past week. At licensure, participants' perceived risk of safety belt non-use was high and ranked among the behaviors most related to crash/injury for newly licensed teenagers, behind driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Parent-imposed consequences for safety belt rule violations were not as highly rated as parent-imposed consequences for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Sequential logistic regression modeled the relationship between safety belt use and perceived risk and consequences of non-use, as well as other prospective predictors assessed at permit and licensure, and driving correlates measured after licensure. Teenagers' extreme perceived risk and parents' intended sure consequences for non-use were significant prospective predictors of regular use during the first year of licensure. Other significant predictors and correlates were race (White), high school grade average of "A," not smoking cigarettes, driving a passenger vehicle, and never receiving a traffic citation or engaging in risky driving behaviors, including driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and running a red light.While the effect size was small for perceived risk of non-use, it is a modifiable factor and focused intervention contrived to enhance perceived risk could increase teenagers' belt use. Perceived risk is discussed as a target for intervention in relation to the Protection Motivation Theory. This theory appears helpful in guiding future research into the modifiable factors studied here as well as other factors, including perceived rewards and costs associated with non-use.

The first comprehensive Graduated License (GDL) law was implemented in Florida in 1996. Now, most states have implemented one or more GDL provision including: extending the time for which a learners permit must be held prior to licensure; passenger restriction; and night driving restriction. Evidence to support each of these provisions existed prior to 1996 and has been largely confirmed with the evaluation of each new state to implement GDL. Nationally, fatal crash involvements of 16 year-old drivers have decreased 23% (1993-1995 vs. 2003-2005). Greater reductions have been seen for crash involvements at night and with passengers. The single most effective GDL provision appears to be the extension of the learners period when this extension has the effect of delaying the time at which unsupervised driving is permitted.

Motor vehicle crashes are highly elevated among newly licensed teenage drivers. Limits on high-risk driving conditions by driver licensing policies and parents can protect novice teens from negative driving outcomes, while they experience and driving proficiency. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of strict parent-imposed driving limits on driving outcomes during the first year of licensure.A sample of 3,743 Connecticut teens was recruited and randomized to the Checkpoints Program or comparison condition. Assessments conducted at baseline, licensure, 3-, 6-, and 12-months postlicensure included parent-imposed driving limits, traffic violations, and crashes. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the effects of strict parent limits on traffic violations and crashes during the first year of licensure.Thirty percent of teens reported at least one traffic violation and 40% reported at least one crash. More strict parent-imposed limits at licensure, 3-, 6-, and 12-months postlicensure, were associated with fewer violations and crashes in multivariate analyses. Notably, adherence to recommended night curfew was consistently associated with fewer violations and crashes.The findings indicate that strict parent-imposed limits may protect novice teen drivers from negative driving outcomes.

This report describes intervention effects on parent-imposed driving limits on novice young drivers at licensure. Parent-adolescent dyads (4,344) completed baseline surveys at permit and were randomly assigned to intervention or comparison groups. Intervention families received persuasive communications related to protection motivation theory variables including threat appraisal regarding high-risk adolescent driving and coping appraisal regarding restrictions on high-risk driving conditions during the early months of adolescent licensure. Comparison families received standard information on driving, vehicles, and road safety. Among the 4,344 families, 3,786 adolescents obtained licenses, and 3,398 parent-adolescent dyads completed surveys at licensure. Significant treatment group differences favoring the Checkpoints Program were found at licensure for driving limits, perceived risk, expected limits, and outcome expectations. Perceived risk and outcome expectations partially mediated and expected limits fully mediated treatment effects. The results provide evidence that persuasive materials can alter threat and coping appraisal and expectations, thereby increasing parent-imposed driving limits at licensure.

Problem Safety belt use in the United States, as measured over daylight hours, has risen steadily over recent years reaching 80% in 2004. Yet, using the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), safety belt use among fatally injured front seat outboard occupants of passenger vehicles was only between 42% and 46% for the years 1999 to 2003. One possible contributing factor is that safety belt use at night, when crash rates are highest, is lower than during the day. Method A full statewide nighttime belt use observation survey was conducted in 2004. This survey was conducted simultaneously with Connecticut's annual full statewide daytime belt use survey. Night belt use observations of drivers and passengers are possible using newly available near military grade night vision goggles and handheld infrared spotlights. Both day and goggle-assisted night observations were conducted at 100 observation sites in Connecticut. Procedures for day and night observations were as nearly identical as possible. Results The night belt use rate was 6.4 percentage points lower than the day rate (83.0 vs. 76.6). Consistent with belt use among Connecticut fatalities, day versus night differences were greatest in urban areas. There was evidence that day versus night differences were greater before as compared to after a May 2004 belt use enforcement program.

Problem Safety belt use rates among front seat occupants of passenger vehicles are substantially lower at night than during the day despite the fact that night driving is more dangerous. Method Recent advances in night vision equipment now make it possible to enforce belt use laws in darkness. Reading, Pennsylvania conducted a night belt use publicity and enforcement campaign during September 2004 using night vision equipment. Results Front seat occupant belt use at night increased significantly from 50% prior to the campaign to 56% just after the campaign. Daylight belt use also increased though to a lesser extent (56% to 59%). Survey data indicated that motorists had heard about the campaign in newspapers and on television. Belt use increases were not seen during the same time period in a comparison community.

Click It or Ticket is an occupant protection Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP) combining intensive paid and earned publicity with enforcement during a brief two to four week period. North Carolina demonstrated substantial increases in safety belt use associated with their implementation of the first statewide Click It or Ticket program in 1993. In 2000, Click It or Ticket was implemented in South Carolina. In 2001, Click It or Ticket was implemented across all eight states of the southeast. In 2002, ten states in various parts of the country implemented Click It or Ticket; four states implemented parts of the full Click It or Ticket program; and four states were used as comparisons. Belt use increases were greatest in the full implementation states. Click It or Ticket was implemented nationally in 2003. This paper presents a historical perspective on the implementation and evaluation of Click It or Ticket programs.

On November 13-14, 2003, a symposium on high-visibility safety belt use enforcement in Raleigh, NC: (a) celebrated the 10th anniversary of North Carolina's Click It or Ticket program; (b) documented current knowledge regarding safety belt use; (c) proposed strategies to increase use further; and (d) discussed research to support these strategies.

The Provisional or Intermediate license is the central phase in a comprehensive Graduated Licensing System. Young drivers qualify for a Provisional license by completing their Learners phase, reaching a specified age, and passing a road test. Provisional license holders are allowed to drive unsupervised subject to various restrictions. Typical restrictions include prohibitions against night driving, passengers and alcohol. The goal is to limit teen exposure to risky driving situations during their first few months of licensure, a time when their crash rates are extremely high. States with such restrictions have been shown to have lower teen crash rates than states without. Parents indicate strong support both for Graduated Licensing Systems and for the specific restrictions.

Police crash reports were obtained for pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes in Washington, DC (N = 852) and Baltimore (N = 1234) for the year 1998. Reports were coded using procedures developed and applied in these two cities during the 1970s, including the determination of pedestrian crash type, primary precipitating factor, and culpability. Results indicated substantial differences between crash patterns observed during the 1970s and those observed during 1998. Midblock dart-dash crashes, which typically involve a precipitating factor or critical error by a child pedestrian, decreased (from 37% to 15% in Washington). Across all crashes in both cities, the number of drivers who made a critical error leading to the crash was nearly equivalent to the number of pedestrians who made a critical error. Overall, pedestrians were slightly more likely to be judged culpable (50% vs. 39%). Turning vehicle crashes, which typically involve a driver's failure to grant a pedestrian the right of way at a signalized intersection, increased (from 9% to 25% in Washington). Countermeasures to reduce the number of pedestrians hit by turning vehicles are discussed.

Revenue-collection data from toll roads allow for accurate estimates of miles driven by vehicle type and, when combined with crash data, valid estimates of crash involvements per mile driven. Data on vehicle-miles traveled and collisions were obtained from toll road authorities in Florida. Kansas, and New York. In addition, state crash files and published vehicle-miles of travel were obtained for toll roads in Illinois. Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Large commercial motor vehicles were significantly underinvolved in single-vehicle crashes on all state toll roads. In five states, commercial motor vehicles were significantly overinvolved in multiple-vehicle crashes relative to passenger vehicles; the exceptions were Kansas, where they had significantly lower multiple-vehicle involvement rates, and Indiana. where there were no significant differences in multiple-vehicle involvements by vehicle type. The risk of commercial motor vehicle involvement in multiple-vehicle crashes resulting in deaths or serious injuries was double that of passenger vehicles in the two states (Ohio and Pennsylvania) that identified serious injuries. Whether crash rates, on toll roads of commercial motor vehicles are higher or lower than those of passenger vehicles appears to depend on the type of crash, specific toll road. and traffic density.

Problem: On January 1, 1997, Connecticut implemented the first phase of graduated licensing requiring 16- and 17-year-olds to hold a learner's permit for 6 months (4 months with driver's education) prior to licensure. The effect of this change was to raise the minimum licensing age in Connecticut by 6 months (or 4 months) during which time a young person could obtain supervised practice driving. Method: Crash rates for 16- to 18-year-olds in Connecticut, before and after the change, were compared with crash rates in nearby counties in New York State. Results: Fatal/injury crash involvements of Connecticut 16-year-old drivers declined by 22% during the first full year following the law change. Declines did not vary significantly between males and females or as a function of the income level of the city/town in which the crash occurred. Fatal/injury crash involvements for 17- and 18-year-olds in Connecticut and 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds in New York did not change significantly. Discussion: Companion surveys of parents conducted before and after their teen was licensed showed support for the law change and support for additional provisions generally associated with “graduated licensing.” Summary: Delaying teenage licensure in Connecticut, during which time a teen could engage in more practice driving, was associated with a 22% reduction in fatal/injury crash involvements for 16-year-old drivers. Impact on Industry:Crash reduction will be related to a reduction in overall highway loss including medical costs, property damage, and lost work time.

Parents of 15 year olds in Florida and Connecticut were first interviewed in 1996 about their views concerning new licensing requirements in their states. The same parents were interviewed again in 1999, after most of their teenagers had obtained drivers' licenses. Few parents reported that the laws inconvenienced them, and less than 20% said that the laws made it harder for their teenagers to get jobs.

In the mid-1980s, the first formal seat-belt enforcement program in the United States was conducted in Elmira, NY. Front seat-belt use increased from 49% to 80%, and the Elmira program became a model for other such programs. In the spring of 1999, the New York State Police launched a statewide seat-belt enforcement campaign, and the Elmira program was revived as part of this effort. This 3-week program was coordinated by the Chemung County Sheriff's Office, and carried out in cooperation with local police departments as well as the state police. The earlier Elmira program emphasized the health and safety benefits of seat belts and warning periods prior to tickets being issued. The 1999 program featured a strong no-excuses, no-warning enforcement message, 32 belt-use checkpoints, and publicity about the enforcement through a variety of mechanisms, including feedback signs that informed motorists of current belt use rates. Front seat-belt use increased from 69% to 90%. Public opinion surveys indicated the program was well known to Elmira residents, and had the support of 79% of those polled. The 1999 Elmira program demonstrates that high-intensity enforcement programs can increase seat-belt use to very high levels with strong community support.

Sixteen and 17 year-olds were surveyed at motor-vehicle offices in Tennessee after qualifying for their first driver's license. When the survey was conducted during October and November 1995, neither a learner's permit nor completion of a driver education course was required to obtain a license at age 16 or 17. The survey was repeated during December and January 1996–97, approximately one year after a requirement to hold a learner's permit for 90 days or complete a driver education course was implemented. Results from the 1991 drivers (ages 16 and 17) surveyed indicated Tennessee's licensing law change was associated with approximately 100 additional miles and 8 additional hours of practice driving prior to licensure for the typical 16 or 17 year-old, most often while supervised by a parent or guardian. Results are discussed in relation to the prelicense practice driving requirements of graduated licensing systems.

Effective July 1, 1993, Louisiana added a provision to its driver licensing law that requires 15-year-olds to complete 36 hours of driver education before they obtain driver’s licenses. The subsequent crash experience of 15-year-olds in Louisiana was compared with that of 15-year-olds in Mississippi, which at the time of this study licensed at age 15; and experience in north Florida, which licenses at age 16. The effect of the new requirement was a 33% reduction in the number of licenses issued to 15-year-olds during the first full year following the law change. The fatal and injury crash involvements of Louisiana 15-year-old drivers declined by as much as 20% annually in the two years following the law change. Involvement rates of older teenagers in Louisiana as well as Florida and Mississippi remained unchanged or increased during the same time period. Louisiana’s night driving restrictions—applicable to drivers younger than age 17 and shown to be effective in previous research—were even more effective after the law change. Fatal and injury crash involvements during the restricted hours for 15- and 16-year-olds were, respectively, 51% and 27% lower than estimated involvements if the night driving restriction had not been in effect. The results of this study provide additional evidence that elements of graduated licensing systems, such as delaying the age of full licensure and night driving restrictions, are effective in reducing the very high rate of teenage involvements in serious motor-vehicle crashes.

High school students in four states were surveyed every six months from their freshmen through senior years. Delaware students could obtain learner’s permits beginning at age 15 years and 10 months and licenses at age 16. Connecticut and New York students could begin learning driving and become licensed at age 16, but New Jersey students could not get their licenses until age 17. Comparisons among states indicated the age at which teenagers first drive on public roads, obtain learner’s permits, and obtain licenses is younger for Delaware students compared with students living in the other states. Comparisons within states indicated students with higher grade point averages and living with both parents, of whom at least one was college educated, were more likely to become licensed at younger ages. The importance of these intrastate personal and family variables was greatest in Connecticut, which allowed a home study option for teaching young people to drive. Implications of these findings for graduated licensing systems, currently being considered by several states, are discussed.

Risk of fatal crash involvement was calculated for older drivers relative to drivers aged 40-49 in the United States during the years 1994-1995. The results indicated that drivers ages 65-69 were 2.26 times more at risk for multiple-vehicle involvements at intersections compared with 1.29 times more at risk in all other situations. The comparable figures for drivers aged 85 and older were 10.62 for multiple-vehicle involvements at intersections compared with 3.74 for all other situations. The relative crash risk was particularly high for older drivers at uncontrolled and stop sign-controlled locations; when traveling straight or when just starting to enter the intersection; and when the specific behavioral error in the crash was failure to yield. Countermeasures will likely involve reducing or simplifying the need to detect and evaluate moving traffic coming from the left and right when at intersections. This can be accomplished by traffic signals with protected left turns, four-way stop signs, and one-way streets. Whereas such devices involve significant cost in terms of dollars and travel delay, their cost-effectiveness may have to be revisited as the United States population continues to age.

Several states enacted elements of graduated licensing systems in 1996. Connecticut introduced a six-month required learner’s permit period. Florida enacted a six-month learner’s period plus a night driving curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds. Parents of 15-year-olds in these states were surveyed to determine their views concerning the new requirements. Parents of graduating seniors in Connecticut and three other northeastern states also were surveyed. Results indicate that, in all six populations, support for graduated licensing was strong. Parents of 15-year-olds in Connecticut and Florida endorsed their new licensing systems, even though there was recognition that they and their children would be inconvenienced to some extent, and many wanted even tougher licensing provisions. Eighty-two percent of Connecticut parents of 15-year-olds thought there should be a night driving curfew for initial license holders, a provision that had been considered but was rejected.

All reported crashes—property damage, nonfatal injury, and fatal—estimated for 1993 in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's General Estimates System were examined for 16-year-old drivers. Results were compared to the crash involvements of other teenagers, older drivers, and fatal injury crash involvements as tabulated by the Fatal Accident Reporting System. Sixteen-year-olds were more likely than other teenagers and older drivers to be involved in single-vehicle crashes, and to be in crashes between 6 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. They were also more likely to have been charged with a moving violation and to have been culpable for the crash. Sixteen-year-old drivers in crashes, compared with other teenage drivers, were proportionately more likely to be female and to be accompanied by other teenage passengers. These differences among 16-year-olds, other teenagers, and older drivers are also found when only fatal crashes are considered. Characteristics of the crashes of 16-year-olds can be used as a guide in establishing licensing policies for initial license holders.

Fatal crash involvements of 15-year-old drivers were tabulated for the period 1989 through 1993 for 33 states that issue learner's permits to 15-year-olds, but do not grant regular licenses until age 16. Most 15-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes either did not hold a learner's permit (57%) or were operating in violation of the terms of their permit at the time of the crash (16%). Compared with 16-year-olds, the fatal crashes of 15-year-olds were more often single-vehicle crashes, late at night, with many passengers in their vehicle, and involved driver factors, such as speeding and failure to drive in the proper lane. Illegal drivers--those without permit or license, and those with permits but unsupervised--were more likely than those driving legally to be culpable and to be in single-vehicle crashes. There were relatively few fatal crash involvements for 15-year-old learner's permit holders engaged in supervised practice driving as permitted by state law. Analysis of these few, and characteristically different, events suggests that learning drivers should limit driving on high speed roads and avoid driving with occupants other than the driver and supervisor.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal ( http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy ). This reprinted article has been retracted at the request of the Publisher. The online version of this reprint has been withdrawn as it was a redundant duplicate of the original article. The original can be found via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4375(96)00041-2 . The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.

Some states allow an officer to stop a vehicle for an observed belt law violation alone (primary). Most require that the initial stop be made for some other violation before a belt law citation can be issued (secondary). On January 1, 1993, California became the first state to implement an uninterrupted change from secondary to primary belt law enforcement. In six study communities, the percentage of drivers observed wearing seat belts increased from 58% prior to the law change to 76% soon thereafter. Drivers surveyed at DMV offices indicated that they had knowledge of the new law and were more likely to wear their belts now than in the past.

There were 2074 crashes fatal to a motorcycle driver in the United States during 1992. A computer program was developed to convert Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) data for these crashes into standard format English language "crash reports". The computer generated reports were analyzed and crash type categories were defined. Five defined crash type categories accounted for 1785 (86%) of the 2074 crash events: Ran off-road (41%); ran traffic control (18%); oncoming or head-on (11%); left-turn oncoming (8%); and motorcyclist down (7%). Alcohol and excessive speed were common factors associated with motorcyclist crash involvement. Left turns and failure to yield were common factors associated with the involvement of other motorists. Suggested countermeasures include helmet use and enforcement of speed and impaired driving laws.

Efforts to reduce urban crash rates have been hampered by a lack of information about motor vehicle crash types. The present study is based on a systematic sample of 4,526 police crash reports from four urban areas. The sample was weighted to give each area equal representation. Diagrams and narrative descriptions from each report were reviewed, and the most common crash types based on precrash driver/vehicle behavior, were identified. Fourteen crash types were defined, and five of these were found to account for 76% of all crash events and 83% of injury crashes. Although the rank order of the five types differed from city to city, they accounted for the vast majority (69%-81%) of the crashes in each. Potential countermeasures are discussed based on the predominant crash types identified in this study. For example, ran traffic control crashes, the most common types, might be reduced by changes in signal timing, providing all-red signal intervals, increasing sign visibility, and increasing sight distances.

Fatal crashes were tabulated for 6-hour periods around sunrise and sunset, from 13 weeks before the fall change to standard time until 9 weeks after the spring change to daylight saving time. Fatal-crash occurrence was related to changes in daylight, whether these changes occurred abruptly with the fall and spring time changes or gradually with the changing seasons of the year. During daylight saving time, which shifts an hour of daylight to the busier evening traffic hours, there were fewer fatal crashes. An estimated 901 fewer fatal crashes (727 involving pedestrians, 174 involving vehicle occupants) might have occurred if daylight saving time had been retained year-round from 1987 through 1991.

This study evaluates an enforcement program targeted at licensed retail sellers of alcohol. The program was a sting or decoy operation in which underage police cadets attempted to purchase packaged beer at randomly selected grocery, convenience, liquor, and drug stores in Denver, Colorado. Stores that sold alcohol to the underage purchasers were subject to fines and beverage license suspensions. During baseline, cadets purchased beer 59% of the time. The purchase rates for successive waves of enforcement conducted over the next 10 months were 32%, 26%, and 26%.

Of 149 large cities surveyed, 72 were found to have nighttime curfew ordinances applying to teenagers of various ages. The typical city curfew identified starts at midnight, ends at 5 A.M., and affects all activity of teenagers ages 13-17 in a public place and unaccompanied by a parent. In comparisons of 47 cities with curfews covering 13- to 17-year-olds and 77 cities without curfews, curfews were associated with a 23% reduction in fatal injury for 13- to 17-year-olds for the 9 P.M.-5:59 A.M. time period. This is identical to the 23% reduction estimated for both fatal and nonfatal motor vehicle injuries for 13- to 17-year-olds in an earlier, more limited study of curfews in Detroit, Cleveland, and Columbus, Ohio.

An evaluation of an integrated enforcement program designed to reduce alcohol-impaired driving and increase seat belt use in Binghamton, NY, was conducted. The program's emphasis is on the publicized use of sobriety and seat belt use checkpoints, passive alcohol sensors, and seat belt law enforcement. A study of the program's first two years shows that a relative overall reduction of about 39% in the number of drivers who had been drinking and were stopped at police checkpoints was sustained from Fall 1988 to Fall 1990; evidence was also found of significantly fewer injury-producing crashes and significantly fewer late-night crashes during months when checkpoints were held. Drivers with high blood alcohol concentrations were relatively unaffected by the program. Seat belt use rose, especially at night. Results suggest that checkpoints may have to be both constant and visible features of enforcement for their benefits to be lasting.

This report presents the findings of a research project to develop a framework and guidance for estimating the costs and benefits of emerging, experimental, untried, or unproven behavioral highway safety countermeasures. This report will be of particular interest to safety practitioners responsible for the development and implementation of the state's Strategic Highway Safety Plan.

Crash rates among teenagers are highly elevated during the first months of licensure. Parent-imposed driving restrictions on initial driving privileges can reduce exposure to high-risk driving conditions, thus reducing crash risk while teens’ driving proficiency develops. This report describes the effect of the Checkpoints Program on driving limits and outcomes. Connecticut teens who obtained a learners permit over a 9-month period were recruited, providing a final sample of 3743 who obtained driver licenses. Families were randomized to the intervention or comparison condition. Intervention families received by mail a series of persuasive communications related to high-risk teen driving and a parent-teen driving agreement, while comparison families received on the same schedule general information on driving and vehicle maintenance. Relative to the comparison group, teens and parents in the Checkpoints Program reported significantly greater limits on high-risk teen driving conditions at licensure, 3-, and 6-months post-licensure; and intervention teens reported significantly less risky driving at each reporting period. By the 12-month follow up teens in the intervention group were significantly less likely than those in the comparison group to have had a traffic violation. However, no treatment group effect was found for crashes. This is the first study to report significant effects on teen driving behavior and performance of education designed to increase parental-imposed teen driving limits.

Introduction Because crash rates are highly elevated during the first months of licensure, it is advisable for parents to limit teen driving so that teens can gain independent driving experience under less dangerous driving conditions. This report describes the effect of the Checkpoints Program on parent limits on novice teen driving through six months post-licensure. Methods Nearly one-quarter of all Connecticut teens who obtained a learner's permit over a 9-month period were recruited, providing a final sample of 3,743 who obtained licenses within the next 16 months. Families were randomized to the intervention or comparison condition. Intervention families received by mail a series of persuasive communications related to high-risk teen driving and a parent-teen driving agreement, while on the same schedule comparison families received standard information on driver safety. Results Families who participated in the Checkpoints Program reported significantly greater limits on teen driving at licensure, 3-months, and 6-months post-licensure. However, there were no differences in reported risky driving behavior, violations, or crashes. Conclusion This is the first statewide study testing the efficacy of the Checkpoints Program. The results indicate that it is possible to foster modest increases in parental restrictions on teen driving limits during the first six months of licensure using passive persuasive communications, but that the levels of restriction obtained were not sufficient to protect against violations and crashes.

Objectives. We describe intervention effects on parent limits on novice teenage driving. Methods. We recruited parents and their 16-year-old children (n = 469) with learner’s permits and randomized them from August 2000 to March 2003. Intervention families received persuasive newsletters related to high-risk teenage driving and a parent‐teenager driving agreement; comparison families received standard information on driver safety. We conducted interviews when the adolescents obtained a learner’s permit, upon licensure, and at 3, 6, and 12 months postlicensure. Results. Intervention parents and teenagers reported stricter limits on teen driving compared with the comparison group at 12 months, with direct effects through 3 months and indirect effects through 12 months postlicensure. Conclusions. A simple behavioral intervention was efficacious in increasing parental restriction of high-risk teen driving conditions among newly licensed drivers. (Am J Public Health. 2005;95:447‐452. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2003.023127)

Urban arterials by their nature carry heavy traffic volumes and generate large numbers of motor vehicle crashes. The present study involved review of police crash reports to identify precrash events and driver actions for a sample of crashes on urban arterials and describes a method for reducing such crashes based on analyses of collision patterns and identification of locations with excessive numbers of crashes of a particular type. Police-reported crash data were obtained for three urban arterials in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. A total of 2,013 crash reports were analyzed. Seven crash types accounted for nearly 90% of these reports. On each arterial studied, several locations with excessive numbers of crashes of a particular type were identified, and corresponding engineering countermeasures were recommended. Differences between the approach employed in this study and traditional blackspot analyses are discussed.

On 1 July 1996, Florida instituted a graduated licensing program for drivers younger than age 18. For the first 3 months, holders of learner's licenses are not allowed to drive at all between 19:00 and 06:00 h; thereafter, they may drive until 22:00 h. Learner's licenses must be held for 6 months prior to eligibility for the intermediate license. Sixteen-year-old intermediate license holders are not permitted to drive unsupervised from 23:00 to 06:00 h, 17 year-olds from 01:00 to 06:00 h. All drivers younger than 18 have strict limits on the number of traffic violations they can accumulate and, effective 1 January 1997, all drivers younger than 21 are subject to a zero tolerance law for drinking and driving. Florida crash data for 1995-1997 were obtained and compared with similar data from Alabama, a state that borders Florida but does not have graduated licensing. For 15, 16, and 17 year-olds combined, there was a 9% reduction in the fatal and injury crash involvement rate in Florida during 1997, the first full year of graduated licensing, compared with 1995. On a percentage basis, crashes declined most among 15 year-olds, followed by 16 year-olds and then 17 year-olds. Reductions were not seen among Alabama teenagers nor among 18 year-olds in Florida.

Fatal crash-involved drivers of passenger vehicles were identified in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System for the period 1990 through 1995. Each driver was categorized as being alone in the vehicle at the time of the crash or with one or more passengers. Drivers at fault or responsible for crash occurrence were defined as all drivers involved in a single-vehicle crash, or drivers in multiple-vehicle crashes who were coded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System as committing one or more driver errors. The results indicated that passenger presence was associated with proportionately more at-fault fatal crashes for drivers aged 24 and younger, were a neutral factor for drivers aged 25-29, and were associated with fewer at-fault involvements for drivers aged 30 and older. Relative risk of fatal crash involvement was particularly high for teenage drivers traveling, day or night, with two or more teenage passengers. Additional research is needed to determine how the added risk associated with teenage passengers riding with teenage drivers can be reduced or eliminated.

Drivers who had been observed wearing or not wearing shoulder belts were compared using vehicle registration data, driver records, and telephone interviews. The observations were made on the New York Thruway during a special seat belt publicity and enforcement program, which achieved a 75% overall belt use. The results showed that those drivers who still did not wear a shoulder belt despite New York law and the special Thruway program were more likely to be male, to be driving older vehicles, to have more prior traffic convictions, to have more prior injury crash involvements, and to say they are more likely to take risks than others. Although drivers reported that assessing points against the drivers license for belt law violations could increase belt use, citations for belt use law violations were very rare, and enforcement would probably have to increase before any new penalty could be effective.

Several U.S. cities have curfew ordinances that limit the late night activities of minor teenagers in public places including highways. Detroit, Cleveland, and Columbus, which have curfew ordinances, were compared to Cincinnati, which does not have such an ordinance. The curfew ordinances were associated with a 23% reduction in motor vehicle related injury for 13- to 17-year-olds as passengers, drivers, pedestrians, or bicyclists during the curfew hours. It was concluded that city curfew ordinances, like the statewide driving curfews studied in other states, can reduce motor vehicle injury to teenagers during the particularly hazardous late night hours.

High school students were surveyed every 6 months from their freshman through senior years concerning licensing, driving, and transportation to and from their various activities. Students in Delaware (learner's permit can be issued at age 15 years, 10 months; driver's license at age 16) were compared with students in Connecticut and New York (permit at age 16; license at age 16) and in New Jersey (license at age 17). During the junior year, most Delaware students, some New York and Connecticut students, and few New Jersey students were licensed. However, even during the junior year, students in the respective states did not differ significantly with respect to time spent at activities such as a paying job, homework, watching television, dating, parties, being with friends, talking on the phone, or participating in sports or school activities. Graduated licensing systems can delay full-privilege teenage licensure and reduce teenage crash rates. These systems also can increase the number of times parents and others must drive. However, the present study's results indicate that licensing delays of as much as 1 year have minimal effects on the nondriving activities of high school students.

Compared with older drivers, and even older teens, greater percentages of 16-year-old drivers in fatal crashes were involved in single-vehicle crashes, were responsible for their crashes, were cited for speeding, had high vehicle occupancy (especially other teenagers), and were female. Sixteen-year-olds were less likely than older drivers to have been drinking. In addition, their crashes occurred at different times than those of older drivers, crashes between 10:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays being especially likely. Information about the characteristics of the crashes of 16-year-olds is important because this is the age at which most states currently allow teenagers to get an unrestricted driver's license. It is also the age at which restrictions on beginning licenses are being considered in some states. The results of this study suggest that restrictions on teenage passengers, and night-driving curfews with pre-midnight starting times--two provisions used in New Zealand's graduated licensing system--would be appropriate in attempts to reduce crashes of beginning 16-year-old drivers, who have the highest fatal crash rate of any single teen age.

A study was conducted in which young males, under the legal alcohol purchase age of 21, attempted to purchase beer at grocery stores and other retail outlets. Underage purchases were attempted at a sample of stores in Washington, D.C.; Westchester County, New York: and Albany and Schenectady counties, New York. Beer was sold to the underage purchasers at 97 percent of the Washington, D.C. stores, 80 percent of the Westchester County stores, and 44 percent of the Albany and Schenectady stores, despite the fact that such sales are illegal. Beer was more likely to be sold to the underage purchasers at smaller neighborhood stores in urban areas. Sales were least likely in Albany, which experienced recent police enforcement of the alcohol purchase age laws. Vigorous enforcement of the minimum purchase age laws is needed to reverse the current national trend toward more alcohol-related highway fatalities among youth.

Fatigue and long driving hours have been implicated as risk factors in truck crashes. Under federal regulations, commercial drivers are permitted to drive no more than 10 hours before having an 8-hour break and cannot work more than 70 hours over an 8-day period. Several studies have suggested that violations of these rules are common. A survey of long haul tractor-trailer drivers was conducted to estimate what proportion of drivers report that they regularly violate the hours-of-service rules and to identify the drivers most likely to commit hours-of-service violations. During December 1990 through April 1991, a total of 1,249 drivers were interviewed at truck safety inspection stations, truck stops, and agricultural inspection stations in Connecticut, Florida, Oklahoma, and Oregon. In each state, interviews were conducted during varying periods of the day over the course of seven days at inspection stations. Overall, 89 percent of eligible drivers asked for interviews participated in the survey. According to self-reports, almost three-fourths of the respondents violate hours-of-service rules. About two-thirds of the drivers reported that they routinely drive or work more than the weekly maximum. A primary impetus for violating rules appears to be economic factors, including tight delivery schedules and low payment rates. Many other driver, job, and vehicle characteristics were significantly associated with being an hours-of-service violator. The high prevalence of hours-of-service violations among tractor-trailer drivers is a problem in need of urgent attention. Potential measures to reduce the prevalence of rules violations include more enforcement directed toward carriers, wider use of electronic recorders, and increasing the number of rest areas.

A pedestrian safety education film titled And Keep on Looking and aimed at children ages 9 to 12 was evaluated in several cities. The results showed an increase in safe street crossing knowledge among 9- to 12-year-old Connecticut children who viewed the film, and some improvement in safe street crossing behavior among 9- to 12-year-old Seattle, Washington, children. Crash reduction was assessed in a 2-year, citywide field test conducted in Milwaukee. The field test indicated a crash reduction of more than 20% for 9- to 12-year-old children in Milwaukee compared with children in areas surrounding Milwaukee and children in comparison cities.

In New York and other states in which seat belt use laws went into effect in the mid-1980s, belt use rates surged initially, then declined. This pattern of belt use also occurred in Canadian provinces that enacted laws in the mid-1970s; special enforcement programs reversed this trend. In late 1985 a three-week enforcement and publicity program was conducted in Elmira, New York. Belt use rates in Elmira were 49 percent before the program, 77 percent right after, and 66 percent two months later. In Glens Falls, a comparison city without a program, belt use declined from 43 percent to 37 percent during this interval. In a telephone survey after the campaign, Elmira respondents were more likely to say the belt use law was being strictly enforced and were more favorable toward it, compared to Glens Falls respondents. These data indicate that enforcement/publicity programs are an important and feasible method for increasing compliance with belt use laws.

The article describes an experimental study which attempted to increase children's awareness of proper safety behavior as well as to increase actual safe behavior in the use of playground equipment. Results indicated that modest to substantial gains were made in both knowledge and behavior, and that among the alternative consumer education programs, the strategy that was most successful was the use of the greatest amount of information with the youngest children.

Data on 1562 methadone maintenance patients (experimentals) in New York State were gathered through face-to-face interviews. A control group of 1059 people was constructed by asking the experimentals to volunteer names of non-addicted friends. State driver records for 718 experimentals and 579 controls were obtained and analyzed. In general, experimental subjects were no worse drivers than the controls either as patients or while they were using heroin. This was so despite the fact that the experimentals estimated their mileage to be at or above the national average throughout their abuse of non-narcotic and narcotic drugs and during their methadone treatment. It was also found that drug abusers who drive are likely to drive immediately after using drugs. There was an indication that narcotic users are able to compensate for drug effects.

Twelve states in the U.S. have curfew laws, which prohibit young drivers from operating motor vehicles during late evening or early morning hours. The effect of such laws on motor vehicle crashes was studied in four of these states. In each state the laws were found substantially to reduce the crashes of sixteen year olds. Sixteen year old driver crash involvements during curfew hours were reduced by an estimated 69 percent in Pennsylvania, 62 percent in New York, 40 percent in Maryland, and 25 percent in Louisiana. Except in Maryland, the percentage of the sixteen year old population licensed was lower in curfew than comparison states. It is possible that curfew laws reduce early licensure, in which case reductions in crash involvements resulting from curfews are greater than shown above.