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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Analyses of Tennessee
Department of Transportation (TDOT) statistics confirmed well-
publicized national data indicating that 16 and 17 year-old drivers
have the highest vehicle- related crash rate of any age group.
Data from a California study showing a significant correlation
between traffic citations and vehicle crashes led Tennessee traffic
safety specialists to conclude that young drivers with multiple
citations are at greater risk for crashes.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the
Parental Involvement Project was to reduce the number of crash-related
fatalities and injuries involving youth drivers in Shelby County,
Tennessee. Objectives of the program were to:
- Develop a traffic
safety effort targeting 16 and 17 year-old drivers
- Engage professional
researchers to design and implement a traffic safety program
- Reduce the number
of citations issued to young drivers
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Early in 1998,
the Governor's Highway Safety Office of the Tennessee Department
of Transportation identified the problem of high crash rates
involving teenaged drivers 16 and 17 years-old. Experience and
analyses of data suggested a primary correlation between crashes
and two variables: the age of the driver and the number of traffic
citations issued. In order to confirm the implications of data
and develop a program to address the problem, the Governor's
Highway Safety Office engaged the services of researchers at
the University of Memphis in February 1998. The researchers contacted
the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County and found a willing
participant to develop a controlled study of juvenile traffic
offenders. During a seven-month period, the Juvenile Court randomly
assigned several hundred juvenile traffic offenders to one of
two groups:
- The control group
received the usual treatment provided by Juvenile Court to juveniles
with multiple traffic citations or aggravated citations—a
court conference with the juvenile offender and his/her parents
or guardians
- Members of the
treatment group participated in a traffic safety intervention
program, the Parental Involvement Project. The primary element
of the intervention program was engagement of the juveniles'
parents or guardians in applying behavior modification techniques.
Each parent or guardian was provided a manual illustrating the
results of teen driving behaviors, using local crash statistics.
The manual also provided instructions on using behavior modification
strategies and practices, such as how to develop and use a behavioral
contract, exercises for improving important driving behaviors,
how to set rules about safe driving, developing appropriate rewards
for safe driving behavior, and setting consequences for breaking
the rules. A critical component of the intervention program was
the commitment of the parent or guardian to become more involved
in monitoring the driving habits of the young driver
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