Providing guidance to the Nation, States and Local Communities
Our goal is to be a leader in the field of young driver safety. As part of this commitment, we frequently provide guidance to individuals, groups and organizations that are working to reduce young driver crashes and fatalities.
On a national level, our team includes Chairs and Members of several Transportation Research Board (TRB) committees including the Operator Education and Regulation Committee (ANB30) and the Young Driver Subcommittee. These groups help to influence the direction of future research on teen drivers. We are frequently invited to give presentations describing our research at conferences such as TRB, Lifesavers and GHSA’s Annual Meeting.
To assist states, we have written a comprehensive guide to inform state Departments of Transportation about effective approaches for reducing young driver collisions. Additionally, we prepare biennial updates to NHTSA’s Countermeasures that Work, which provides guidance to state Highway Safety Offices in selecting effective, science-based traffic safety countermeasures. The guide includes a description of proven countermeasures to improve young driver safety. We also assist the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Program (GHSP) in preparing its yearly Highway Safety Plan (HSP). The HSP documents the young driver crash problem in North Carolina, and describes programs, projects and activities funded by GHSP to address the problem.
We support many teen-driver efforts within North Carolina. Members of our team serve on the Injury-Free NC Academy, the Driver Education Advisory Committee, the Injury & Violence Prevention State Advisory Council. We also frequently provide guidance to the North Carolina General Assembly’s Child Fatality Task Force, and we testify before the General Assembly on legislation pertaining to young drivers.
North Carolina was one of the first states in the nation to implement GDL. All 50 states have since followed suit, but the quality of GDL programs varies considerably from state to state. We recently completed a multi-year project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide assistance to coalitions who were working to implement or upgrade their state’s young driver licensing systems. The project included strategic planning workshops, surveys of parents of teenagers, and guidance on how to frame the issue of young driver safety with the media.
Selected Bibliography
