CARS OWNED AND DRIVEN BY TEENAGERS

In an effort to analyse the teenage crash problem, a survey was made of 50,000 students in 75 high schools in 7 areas of the country. The survey elecited descriptive summaries of teenagers' transportation needs, driving behavior, attitudes, and lifestyles. The results of the study indicate that the majority of licensed high school students have cars that they consider their own, and ownership is associated with more driving, more crashes, and poorer academic performance among males. Also, the cars they drive tend to be smaller and older than cars driven by the general population. Thus there is a perverse mismatch in which teenagers who are at the highest risk of crash-related injury, have even less protection against injury than other segments of the population. It is noted that economic and sociocultural factors other than considerations about injuries influence car purchase decisions. The most effective measures for dealing with the consequences of teenage driving currently available are those that limit the amount and type of their driving exposure (curfews; older licensing age, older alcohol laws). Mandatory seat belt use laws also, can provide additional protection. In addition, air bags and automatic seat belts can increase the protection of teenagers in crashes.