Teen drivers are often dangerous on the road due to speeding and cell phone use

Crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers, and risky driving behaviors such as speeding, speeding, and cell phone use can contribute to crashes. New research presented at the 2022 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exposition shows that many teens have a hard time obeying the rules of the road.

The authors of the abstract “With the help of the novel mobile phone A telematics application to measure teenage driving behaviour’, showed that all teenagers, regardless of gender, who were behind the wheel of a car were prone to risky behaviour, especially with a portable car. using a mobile phone and speeding. Among the teenage drivers studied, speeding occurred in approximately 40% of trips, and cell phone use was detected in just over 30% of trips. In 5% of the trips recorded in the study, teenagers were using a mobile phone while speeding.

“Our data gives us another insight into teen driving behavior. Teens were speeding and using their cell phones while driving, but it wasn’t happening on every trip. We want to encourage safe driving and find ways to prevent risky driving behaviors that can lead to before the accident,” said lead author Kathryn MacDonald, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and co-director of the PENN Trauma Research Center.

Researchers used a cell phone app to track the driving skills of 165 teenagers in Pennsylvania. Average age c teenagers in the study was 17.3 years, and the average duration of the license was 8 months. The study found that most teenagers made short trips, averaging less than 6 miles per trip, and less than 2% of trips were at night.

There were several differences between the driving habits of men and women. Hard braking and rapid acceleration occurred in only about 10% of trips, but men in the sample engaged in such risky driving behaviors more often than women. However, there were no significant differences between men and women in speeding, mobile phone use or night driving.

“Given the rapid change in technology in teenagers’ daily lives, this study also builds on previous research and helps identify patterns associated with mobile phone use while driving among teenagers,” said Dr McDonald. “Behavioral variation in this sample highlights opportunities for targeted intervention in risky driving.”

Additional information:
Using a New Smartphone Telematics App to Measure Adolescent Driving Behavior, American Academy of Pediatrics 2022 National Conference and Exposition.