Teen driving safety webinar: Recent research and implications for prevention

Many factors contribute to the high rate of motor vehicle-related deaths among teens – including lack of driving experience, lack of seat belt use, excessive speed, distractions, and drug and alcohol impairment. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens with nearly seven teens (aged 13–19) dying and hundreds more being injured every day. In this webinar, Dr. Barbara Banz of the Yale School of Medicine discussed the neuroscience of driving for teens and the complexity in teen crashes from a developmental perspective. Dr. Federico Vaca, also at the Yale School of Medicine, shared his work on the relatively newer phenomenon of teens delaying their driving licensure, including advantages and disadvantages, contributing factors, differences among racial/ethnic groups, and implications for graduated driving licensure and teen driver safety. Access the teen driving research webinar recording here.