Attitudes of Teenagers and Their Parents to Pennsylvania's Graduated Driver Licensing System

Abstract

Objectives. To determine the attitudes of teens and parents in Pennsylvania (PA) towards the enhanced graduated driver licensing (GDL) system implemented in 2000, and to assess their understanding of teen crash risk.

Methods. Cross-sectional survey of teen drivers and their parents. Eligible teens were 16 or 17 years old when they obtained their first learner's permits in 2000. A simple random sample of 2500 was obtained from 48,372 meeting inclusion criteria. Questions were based on previous surveys and pre-tested in focus groups. Analysis: Chi-square, McNemar, or t-tests, as appropriate.

Results. A total of 1561 surveys (811 parents and 750 teens) were included in the analysis. There were no differences between the sample and teen respondents. Their junior license had been achieved by 735 (98%) teens and had been driving unsupervised for a mean of 14.1 months (SD 4.89). Greater than ninety percent (90%) of parents approved of the overall system, the six-month learner phase, and the requirement for parental certification of 50 hours of supervised driving. The teens' reactions were less positive than the parents' (p < 0.001), but only 16% reported a negative overall reaction. 31.4% of the teens reported not completing the required 50 hours of supervised driving. 70.6% of parents felt the nighttime driving restriction was “just right” at 11 pm but 54.0% of teens preferred that it be returned to 12 mn (p < 0.001). When asked about the crash rate for teen drivers, 72.8% of teens and 74.0% of parents chose rates 2 to 100 times less than the reported crash rate (p = 0.8).

Conclusions. In PA, the primary stakeholders, teen drivers and their parents, were poorly informed about teen crash risk. Parents were very positive and teens are generally neutral or weakly positive about the new restrictions imposed by the enhanced graduated driver licensing system. Better understanding of the crash rate for teen drivers might increase approval of system restrictions, enhance compliance, and further strengthen the system.

Keywords:

• Adolescent
• Young Drivers
• Graduated Driver Licensing
• Attitudes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge help from Terri Rae Anthony, Joyce D'Antonio, Amanda Cook, Patti Jo Evans, Deborah Friedman, and Anne Rieg.

This work was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The contents of this publication reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, or The Pennsylvania State University at the time of publication. This publication does not represent a standard, specification, or regulation.

Notes

* Numbers do not add up because not all respondents answered each question.

* p < 0.001.

* p < 0.001.

* Denominator varies for each question.