Stiffened penalties for nighttime teen driving associated with fewer fatal crashes

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-06/bawh-spf060315.php

Public Release: 8-Jun-2015
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teenage deaths in the United States and globally, and drowsy driving accounts for one out of five of those deaths. Young people, who are especially vulnerable to sleep deficiency, are responsible for most fatigue-related crashes.

In 2007, a series of regulations for young drivers was introduced in Massachusetts, which included more stringent penalties for unsupervised nighttime driving by 16 and 17 year old novice drivers, and mandated drowsy driving education. To evaluate the impact of these regulations on teenage drivers, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) examined the rate of motor vehicle crashes in junior operators (16-17 years) compared to older age groups (18-19 years and 20 years or above) in the one year prior to, and five years after implementation.

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Results of the research, published by Health Affairs in its June 2015 issue, found that the rate of crashes involving fatal and incapacitating injury among drivers age 16-17 decreased by 40 percent after the regulations were enacted. Overall, police-reported crashes decreased in these junior operators by 19 percent, and nighttime crashes decreased by 29 percent.

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