BACKGROUND
Teen drivers pose the greatest risk for motor vehicle crashes compared to any other age group. Motor vehicle crashes continue to be a leading cause of teen death, and crash risk for recently licensed teens is significantly higher than for other age groups.
Reducing the risk of teen driver crashes requires many countermeasures, including better preparing teens for driving before licensure. Previous studies have demonstrated parents' positive influence on teen driving behavior, from a higher likelihood of wearing their seatbelts to a lower instance of driving distracted or under the influence. Studies have also shown that teens who receive experience driving in various conditions (i.e., different road types, varying weather, new routes, etc.) during the permitting phase are safer drivers when licensed and driving independently.
More information is needed to demonstrate how to best prepare parents to optimize time spent behind the wheel with their teen drivers, and how best to ensure this time is completed. Some states require a signed driving log to be submitted with the license application, while others simply require the parent to sign an affidavit stating the driving hours were completed.
For the purpose of this project, “parent” includes guardians and other caregivers.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research is to provide actionable information to help states optimize parent-teen supervised driving to ensure it creates safer teen drivers and reduces the crash risk for this vulnerable age group. The desired outcome will be to provide states (and ultimately, parents) with resources to help ensure that parent-teen supervised driving delivers on its intended goal.
TASKS
PHASE I - Document Review and Planning
Task 1. Conduct a limited review and synthesis of existing studies that have evaluated, or identified noteworthy practices for, parent-teen supervised driving and related issues.
Task 2. Document noteworthy domestic and relevant international programs and tools available to support parental awareness and involvement with supervised driving.
Task 3. Develop a data collection and analysis plan for conducting new research in Phase II to accomplish the project's objective. This will include at a minimum:
- Analysis to compare safety outcomes in states that do and do not require teen driving logs to be turned in.
- Determine if providing resources to parents that help with awareness of supervised driving and graduated driver license (GDL) requirements, tracking time together, and submitting an accurate log of supervised driving leads to more experience, safer teen drivers, and fewer crashes.
Task 4. Develop an outline for the materials to be developed under Task 7.
Task 5. Prepare an interim report that documents the work completed in Tasks 1 through 4. Update the work proposed for Phase II.
PHASE II - Data Collection, Analysis, and Deliverables
Task 6. Execute the plan in the interim report to achieve the research objective.
Task 7. Develop (1) a toolkit for use by SHSOs and other stakeholders to help optimize parent-teen supervised drives to reduce teen crash risk; (2) outreach materials to support practitioners’ understanding and use of the research findings; and (3) innovative ideas to support delivery of information to parents.
Task 8. Conduct a virtual workshop with a large, diverse, and multidisciplinary group of stakeholders to share draft findings and collect stakeholder feedback for use in finalizing the deliverables.
Task 9. Develop final deliverables, which at a minimum will include (1) a final research report documenting the entire research effort and findings; (2) toolkit; (3) outreach materials to support understanding and use of the research findings; (4) prioritized recommendations for future research; (5) PowerPoint presentation summarizing the research findings; and (6) a technical memorandum on implementation.
STATUS: Proposals have been received in response to the RFP. The project panel will meet to select a contractor to perform the work.
