How to help teenagers be better drivers
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Parents are among the key stakeholders. So they should think twice about the vehicles their children are driving.
New teenage drivers were eight times more likely to crash or have a close call in the first three months after getting a licence and driving independently than they were during the last three months on a learner’s permit, reveals a recent study published in the US Journal of Adolescent Health on teenage driving habits. “The cause of teenage crashes is not the skill with which they can drive, but the judgment they exercise while driving,” says the study.
New teen drivers were also four times more likely to engage in risky behaviours like rapid acceleration, sudden braking and hard turns, according to a study led by Bruce G. Simons-Morton of the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Heady combination
The confidence of youth and an unfettered time behind the wheel after earning a driving licence can be a heady combination and often this leads young, first-time drivers to experience a “feeling of being invulnerable ... when compared with older drivers, as our behaviour studies testify,” says Thomas Edelman, Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE.
A common risk facing young drivers today involves distracting devices. A mere four seconds with eyes off the road vastly increases the chance of an accident, say experts.
“Teenage drivers have the highest rate of distraction-related fatal crashes of all other age groups,” Simons-Morton reported.
And the temptations keep growing, with in-vehicle information and entertainment technologies and portable electronic devices of which teens are usually the earliest adopters. “There are three kinds of distractions: visual, cognitive and manual,” says Dr Brian D. Johnston, coauthor with Dr Elizabeth M. Alderman of the new policy statement for young drivers in the US. “Electronic technology is all three of these and the risk of a crash goes way up.”
The Catch 22 about young drivers is: they are more likely to get into trouble because they lack experience, but the best way to reduce the risk of an accident is to become an experienced driver.
“It seems only with experience and when growing older, [do] UAE’s motorists adjust their behaviour and drive safer,” says Edelman.
Johnston’s view is in concurrence. “It may take only a few hours behind the wheel for most novices to develop reasonable vehicle management skills, but safe driving judgement, as with all complex activities, comes only with experience.”
Experts also say that the role of parents in rearing safe drivers starts long before children can see over the steering wheel. So, how can parents help? “Parents are among the key stakeholders, besides the education system (universities, schools, teachers), peers, to coach and mentor new drivers,” says Edelman.
Johnston believes that parents should think twice about the cars teens are driving.
Though the tendency may be to provide an old car lest a new one gets banged up, teens may be better off with a newer vehicle equipped with the latest safety features, like signals for lane changes and approaching vehicles and self-braking in an impending crash. Johnston suggests that parents “pick the safest, most up-to-date car you can afford.” Parents might also consider creating a teen-driving contract that spells out the expectations, responsibilities and risks for the teen driver.
The US paediatrics society offers a prototype contract under the teen section of its website, healthychildren.org.
Should parents continue to supervise their teen’s driving until the latter are more experienced? Is this practical?
RSU: Yes, this is practical and parents are one of the key stakeholders, besides the education system (universities, schools, teachers), peers, to coach and mentor new drivers [as said earlier].
Second-hand car or new car for first-time teen drivers?
RSU: Not material from a road safety perspective, as long as both are well-maintained and roadworthy. A low horse-power and relatively low-speed vehicle, with lots of safety features. There are many price points for all kinds of vehicles.
Are young drivers more prone to distractions due to gadgetdependence?
RSU: Young drivers are at high risk when it comes to road safety.
According to MOI data (2016), 45 per cent of all accidents are caused by young drivers. In Abu Dhabi, (2015), 63 per cent of all traffic accidents were caused by young drivers, as well as 34 per cent of all deaths in road accidents. “The main causes for accidents within this age group are speeding, using phones behind the wheel and not keeping safe distance,” states the MOI.
Is a parent-child teen-driving contract workable?
RSU: Yes, it can work. In addition, there are many apps designed specifically for young drivers.
Some experts argue that denying teenagers responsibility for expensive cars implies lack of trust.
RSU: From a road safety perspective this is not material. We MUST protect our children with all possible means.