Developmental sources of crash risk in young drivers

Objective: To outline various sources of crash risk among young drivers that are developmental (age based) factors. Methods and Results: First, a distinction is made between adolescence (ages 10–18) and emerging adulthood (ages 18–25) in order to shed light on the reasons for especially high crash rates among 16–17 year old drivers relative to 18–25 year olds. Then various developmental sources of risk in adolescence are described, including the power of friends, the optimistic bias, and adolescent emotionality. The reasons for especially high crash rates among young males are discussed, with an emphasis on how American ideas about manhood promote driving risks. Finally, a cross national comparison between adolescents in the United States and Denmark shows how developmental risks interact with driving policies. Conclusions: The high crash rates of adolescents relative to emerging adults and of emerging adults relative to older drivers can be explained in part by developmental factors.

[1]  N. Adler,et al.  The role of behavioral experience in judging risks. , 2001, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[2]  Trish,et al.  Protecting adolescents from harm. Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. , 1997, JAMA.

[3]  Robert J. Sampson,et al.  Crime and Deviance Over the Life Course: The Salience of Adult Social Bonds , 1990 .

[4]  Jessica L. Hartos,et al.  Do Parent-Imposed Delayed Licensure and Restricted Driving Reduce Risky Driving Behaviors Among Newly Licensed Teens? , 2001, Prevention Science.

[5]  Hamish A Deery,et al.  Hazard and Risk Perception among Young Novice Drivers , 1999 .

[6]  B. Halpern-Felsher,et al.  Judgments about Risk and Perceived Invulnerability in Adolescents and Young Adults , 2003 .

[7]  M. Zuckerman.  Behavioral Expressions and Biosocial Bases of Sensation Seeking , 1994 .

[8]  J. Arnett.  Adolescent storm and stress, reconsidered. , 1999, The American psychologist.

[9]  Per-Arne Rimmö,et al.  ON THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN VIOLATIONS AND ERRORS: SENSATION SEEKING ASSOCIATIONS , 1999 .

[10]  S. Millstein,et al.  Risk‐taking Behavior in Adolescents: The Paradigm a , 1997, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[11]  F. Cheung.  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) notes. An analysis of alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities by ethnicity. , 1999, Annals of emergency medicine.

[12]  J. Arnett.  Reckless behavior in adolescence: A developmental perspective , 1992 .

[13]  C E Irwin.  ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT AND DRIVING: DOES DRIVING DIFFER FROM OTHER HEALTH DAMAGING BEHAVIORS , 1996 .

[14]  R. Larson,et al.  Waiting for the weekend: Friday and Saturday night as the emotional climax of the week. , 1998, New directions for child development.

[15]  Jerald G. Bachman,et al.  Smoking, Drinking, and Drug Use in Young Adulthood: The Impacts of New Freedoms and New Responsibilities , 1997 .

[16]  J. Youniss,et al.  Adolescent Relations with Mothers, Fathers and Friends , 1985 .

[17]  R. S. Lynch,et al.  Driving anger: correlates and a test of state-trait theory , 2001 .

[18]  P. Ellison-Potter,et al.  The Effects of Trait Driving Anger, Anonymity, and Aggressive Stimuli on Aggressive Driving Behavior , 2001 .

[19]  L. Ku,et al.  Problem behaviors and masculinity ideology in adolescent males. , 1994 .

[20]  J. Arnett.  Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. , 2000, The American psychologist.

[21]  J. Jemerin,et al.  Life events, cardiovascular reactivity, and risk behavior in adolescent boys. , 1995, Pediatrics.

[22]  D M DeJoy,et al.  An examination of gender differences in traffic accident risk perception. , 1992, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[23]  A F Williams,et al.  The effect of teenage passengers on the fatal crash risk of teenage drivers. , 1998, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[24]  J. Arnett,et al.  Cultural bases of risk behavior: Danish adolescents. , 1993, Child development.

[25]  J. Arnett,et al.  Conceptions of the transition to adulthood among emerging adults in American ethnic groups. , 2003, New directions for child and adolescent development.

[26]  Daniel R Mayhew,et al.  Changes in collision rates among novice drivers during the first months of driving. , 2003, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[27]  J. Arnett,et al.  Conceptions of the Transition to Adulthood: Perspectives From Adolescence Through Midlife , 2001 .

[28]  C. Irwin,et al.  Adolescent nutritional disorders : prevention and treatment , 1997 .

[29]  J. Arnett.  Sensation seeking: A new conceptualization and a new scale , 1994 .

[30]  N. Harré.  Risk Evaluation, Driving, and Adolescents: A Typology , 2000 .

[31]  U Tränkle,et al.  Risk perception and age-specific accidents of young drivers. , 1990, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[32]  J. Andrey,et al.  The situational risks of young drivers: the influence of passengers, time of day and day of week on accident rates. , 1998, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[33]  A. Matheny,et al.  Health consequences of behaviors: injury as a model. , 1992, Pediatrics.

[34]  J. Arnett,et al.  Socialization and Risk Behavior in Two Countries: , 1994 .

[35]  Dam Twisk.  YOUNG DRIVER ACCIDENTS IN EUROPE, MAGNITUDE AND NATURE , 1996 .

[36]  Brian N. Fildes,et al.  Young Novice Driver Subtypes: Relationship to High-Risk Behavior, Traffic Accident Record, and Simulator Driving Performance , 1999, Hum. Factors.

[37]  J. Arnett,et al.  Learning to Stand Alone: The Contemporary American Transition to Adulthood in Cultural and Historical Context , 1998, Human Development.

[38]  M. Lamb.  : Divergent Realities: The Emotional Lives of Mothers, Fathers and Adolescents , 1996 .

[39]  G. Chrousos,et al.  Gonadal and Adrenal Hormone Correlates of Adjustment in Early Adolescence , 2021, Biological-Psychosocial Interactions in Early Adolescence.