New teenage drivers were eight times more likely to crash or have a close call in the first three months after getting a license and driving independently than they were during the last three months on a learner’s permit, reveals a recent study published in the US Journal of Adolescent Health on teenage driving habits. “The cause of teenage crashes is not the skill with which they can drive, but the judgment they exercise while driving,” says the study.

New teen drivers were also four times more likely to engage in risky behaviours like rapid acceleration, sudden braking and hard turns, according to a study led by Bruce G. Simons-Morton of the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Young drivers causing accidents is a perennial social issue and all societies are trying various ways to bring down the numbers through awareness campaigns on traffic safety.

In the UAE, in the first quarter of 2018, youngsters in the age group of 18-30 years caused 46 per cent of accidents in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, according to Abu Dhabi Police.

More than 4.6 million traffic violations were registered in 2017 in Abu Dhabi and most of them were committed by 18-30 age group, constituting 44.8 per cent, as per statistics from the police.

A survey by Road Safety UAE reveals that about 55 per cent of young drivers in the UAE in the age group of 18-24 claim they speed so they can show off to others or impress them.

The confidence of youth and an unfettered time behind the wheel after earning a driving licence can be a heady combination and often, this leads young, first-time drivers to experience a “feeling of being invulnerable ... when compared with older drivers, as our behaviour studies testify,” says Thomas Edelman, Managing Director of Road Safety UAE.

A common risk facing young drivers today involves distracting devices. A mere four seconds with eyes off the road vastly increases the chance of an accident, say experts.

“Teenage drivers have the highest rate of distraction-related fatal crashes of all other age groups,” Simons-Morton reported. And the temptations keep growing, with in-vehicle information and entertainment technologies and portable electronic devices of which teens are usually the earliest adopters.

“There are three kinds of distractions: visual, cognitive and manual,” says Dr. Brian D. Johnston, co-author with Dr. Elizabeth M. Alderman of the new policy statement for young drivers in the US. “Electronic technology is all three of these and the risk of a crash goes way up.”

The big issue about discussing teenage driving however is the Catch 22: New drivers are more likely to get into trouble because they lack experience, but the best way to reduce the risk of a crash is to become an experienced driver. “It seems only with experience and when growing older, [do] UAE’s motorists adjust their behaviour and drive safer,” says Edelman.

Johnston’s view is in concurrence. “It may take only a few hours behind the wheel for most novices to develop reasonable vehicle management skills, but safe driving judgment, as with all complex activities, comes only with experience.”

Experts also say that the role of parents in rearing safe drivers starts long before children can see over the steering wheel.

So, how can parents help?
“Parents are one of the key stakeholders, besides the education system (universities, schools, teachers), peers, to coach and mentor new drivers,” says Edelman.

Johnston believes that parents should think twice about the cars teens are driving. Though the tendency may be to provide an old car lest a new one get banged up, teens may be better off with a newer vehicle equipped with the latest safety features, like signals for lane departures and approaching vehicles and self-braking in an impending crash. Johnston suggests that parents “pick the safest, most up-to-date car you can afford.”

Parents might also consider creating a teen-driving contract that spells out the expectations, responsibilities and risks for the teen driver.

The US paediatrics society offers a prototype contract under the teen section of its website, healthychildren.org.

SOURCE : GULFNEWS