Young Drivers Plus No Seat Belts a Bad Mix
Teens who are passengers in automobiles that crash are more likely to die than younger children in the same setting, according to a study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
This is especially true if the car is being driven by a young, inexperienced driver, a new study reveals.
Researchers looked at 45,560 crashes that involved passengers ages eight to 17. From 2000 to 2005, 9,807 passengers in this age group died in car crashes.
"We were surprised to find that there was a clear tipping point that occurred between ages 12 and 16, says lead researcher Dr. Flaura Koplin-Winston, with the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "There was a dramatic rise in deaths to passengers in cars."
Before age 12, the number of deaths per year of age was fairly constant, and then suddenly between 12 and 14, it rose dramatically and continued to rise all the way through the teens, says Dr. Koplin-Winston.
Among these deaths, 54.4 percent of the teens were riding with a driver under age 20. In addition, almost two-thirds of the teens that died were not wearing seat belts.
More than three-quarters of the crashes happened on roads with speed limits above 45 mph, the researchers found. Drinking was a factor in 21.2 percent of the fatal car crashes.
"To me, as a pediatrician, a researcher, and [a] mother, it really hit home to me that parents need to start the driving conversation way before they start thinking about a learner's permit," says Dr. Koplin-Winston.
"It has to start around 12 or 13, because that's when kids start being driven by other people, and, unfortunately, sometimes by their peers," she notes.
Dr. Koplin-Winston says parents should talk to their children about wearing seat belts and be models of seat-belt wearing themselves.
"We need to identify what is an unsafe ride," explains Dr. Koplin-Winston. "Riding with someone who is a young driver, particularly one who is under 16, particularly in the first year of driving, may be dangerous."
Parents should help their children find alternative solutions and other rides, notes Dr. Koplin-Winston.
She supports graduated driving laws that restrict the number and age of passengers that a young driver can have in the car.
"Those kinds of things can really save lives," she says.
One expert thinks parents do not pay enough attention when their children start climbing into the cars of their friends.
"Parents often worry about health issues in their children - Is my kid's headache a brain tumor? Of course, no one wants his/her kid to get these illnesses, but they are rare and not preventable," says Dr. Karen Sheehan, medical director of Injury Prevention and Research at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
What is common and what is largely preventable are motor vehicle crashes, Dr. Sheehan says.
"However, as a society, we think of car crashes as accidents, but really when you look at the data closely, as they did in this article, there are specific risks for death that can be identified - and if avoided may prevent serious injury," she says.
"Parents need to require their kids use restraints," she emphasizes. "Parents need to be aware of the dangers of their kids riding with young drivers, especially on high-speed roads."
Always consult your physician for more information.
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Although teen drivers, between the ages of 16 and 19, constitute almost 10 percent of all licensed drivers, they are involved in 12 percent of fatal motor vehicle-related crashes.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a 16-year-old driver is more than 20 times as likely to have a motor vehicle crash than any other licensed driver. In fact, the leading cause of death among 16- to 20-year-olds is motor vehicle-related crashes.
There are two main reasons why teenage drivers are at increased risk for motor vehicle-related crashes that result in injury or death, including the following:
lack of driving experience
Lack of experience means the teenage driver is less able to detect and respond to traffic hazards, less in control of his/her vehicle, and less able to integrate speed.
risk behavior of teenagers
Teenagers tend to take more risks as they are influenced by their emotions, stress, and peer pressure. In addition, experimenting with alcohol and recreational drugs can impair the teenager's driving ability.
Also, teenage drivers tend to not use their seat belts, increasing their risk of injury in a crash. According to the AAP, less than one-fourth of high school students say they always wear their seat belts when another person is driving.
Another contributing factor to the increased risk to teenager drivers includes nighttime driving. Nighttime driving is more difficult for anyone, especially the novice driver. However, teenagers tend to do disproportionately more driving at night, increasing their risk of a fatal motor vehicle crash, as compared to daytime driving.
The AAP has made the following recommendations to pediatricians in coordination with parents to ensure safer teenage driving:
- Emphasize to both the parents and teenagers how important safe driving is, including the fact that teenagers need to develop driving skills with supervised practice.
- Set a good driving example as an adult.
- Establish limits on your teenager's driving privileges, such as a limited number of passengers and/or restricted nighttime driving.
- Impose penalties for irresponsible driving behavior.
- Supervise teenage drivers in vehicles.
- Make sure the vehicle is mechanically safe.
- Get involved in community advocacy, such as helping coordinate alcohol-free events, to help support parent-peer initiatives and help teenagers avoid negative peer pressure.
- Support legislative advocacy that targets a reduction in motor vehicle crashes among teenage drivers, such as graduated licensing systems, stricter minimum driving age laws, and tougher safety belt laws.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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