Recognizing Teenagers’ Developing Brain is Important in the Fight Against Fatal Accidents
Once again, warnings are popping up around the country that Memorial Day heralds the beginning of the year’s 100 Deadliest Days for Teen Drivers, covering the summer months between May 28th and Labor Day on September 2, 2024. Read, “The Summer of Safety Is Here,” written by Andrew Sheldon and published by AAA Magazine on May 29, 2024.
Explains AAA’s Mark Schieldrop:
“For many teen drivers, summer brings more free time with friends and plenty of potential distractions, such as phone use and multiple teen passengers – all of which increase their crash risk. Any time is the right time for parents and caregivers to talk with their teens about risky driving behaviors, the importance of continued driving practice to develop their skills and the many reasons they have to stay safe on the road this summer and beyond.”
Motor Vehicle Accidents: Leading Cause of Death for U.S. Teenagers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) confirm that motor vehicle accidents kill more teenagers in this country than any other cause of death. The CDC statistics also report that every single day eight (8) teenagers will lose their lives in vehicular crashes. Daily CDC statistics also show that literally hundreds of teenagers will be injured in traffic accidents, where they are blessed to survive but still may suffer catastrophic harm or permanent, life-altering injuries.
The sad reality in this country today is that teen drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 years have a crash fatality rate that is around 300% higher than drivers who are at least 20 years old.
Read: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Fatality Facts 2020: Teenagers. Arlington, VA: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute; May 2022.
For more, read: 100 Deadliest Days for Teen Drivers: Risk of Fatal Crash Skyrockets in Summer Months.
Recognized Teen Driver Dangers: Fatal Crash Risks
Of course, researchers and safety agencies will point to known risk factors that contribute to these disturbing realities. Among them, as described by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, are things like:
- Speeding
- Texting while driving
- Distracted by passengers
- Failing to wear a seat belt
- Driving while under the influence of alcohol (drunk driving or buzzed driving)
- Driving while under the influence of drugs or impairing substances.
For more on known dangers involved in fatal teen driver accidents, see: Teen Driver Accidents: Causes and Consequences and Teen Drivers and Fatal Car Accidents: High Risk in Indiana and Illinois.
Reducing Risks: Parents, Teachers, GDL Laws
Parents and others involved or concerned with keeping our teenagers safe (including teachers, coaches, etc.) are given support and strategies to try and minimize these known risks. This includes entering into a Parent-Teen Driving Agreement.
There are also safety laws in place for teen drivers in both Illinois and Indiana that limit their time behind the wheel. Both Indiana and Illinois have passed Graduated Drivers’ Licensing laws. They are not the same.
These GDL laws limit things like the legal right to drive after dark (nighttime driving restrictions), as well as being required to drive with supervision. For details, read the Governors’ Highway Safety Association’s list of the various GDL laws for all fifty states (including Illinois and Indiana).
However, for safety agencies, health care professionals, and those advocating for accident victims and their families, there must also be consideration of cognitive development and the reality that the human brain is still developing in the teen driver.
Contributing Biological Realities and The Brain of the Teen Driver
As Stanford Medicine explains, adolescent brain development involves those individuals between the ages of 12 and 18. During this time, the adolescent brain changes in tremendous ways; with this maturation comes greater abilities to assess risks, make decisions, and control impulsive reactions.
What is happening? The teen driver’s prefrontal cortex is developing. This is where the brain handles things like decision-making.
Because the prefrontal cortex is not fully formed, the teen driver may not be able to distinguish the best alternatives while driving. Things like speeding, using their smartphones, or having fun with their friends in the car, may not seem troublesome or risky. See, “Teen Brain Development And The Impacts On Safe Driving,” published by the Brain Injury Help Center on December 7, 2023.
Neurocognitive Maturity Factor and Other Contributing Cognitive Biological Factors
Researchers describe the cognitive component to teen driver fatalities as being the “neurocognitive maturity” factor. Read, Alderman, Elizabeth M., et al. “The teen driver.” Pediatrics 142.4 (2018)(“Pediatrics Study”).
This is clarified to be a “biological risk” facing our teenagers behind the wheel. The pediatric perspective of teen driver fatality risk is (footnotes omitted):
The human brain does not achieve complete development until after adolescence. Puberty is a time of physical growth and sexual maturation accompanied by development and change in the adolescent brain, particularly the regions that control behavior, emotions, decision-making, and self-regulation. Adolescent cognitive immaturity, including deficits in self-control, attention, and executive function, may also contribute to teen driving behaviors but have not been independently associated with crash risk.
Many behaviors and motivations related to driving, such as risk and sensation seeking, are neurobiological in origin, are less related to age than to stage of puberty, and are exacerbated when coupled with normative psychosocial changes of adolescence related to limit testing. Developmental demands present unique challenges for novice drivers, as they master skills that require knowledge, experience, and judgment at a time when risk-taking behaviors and the influence of peer pressure are at their peak.
Read, Alderman, Elizabeth M., et al. “The teen driver.” Pediatrics 142.4, page 4 (2018) (“Pediatrics Study”).
The reality of teen cognitive development and incomplete brain function maturity may be exacerbated by things like teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as teenagers who have suffered sport-related concussions. Other medical complications that impact brain function in the teen driver can include things like:
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Epilepsy
- Sleep apnea.
2024 Summer of Safety: Brain Development can be a Factor in Teen Driver Accidents
During the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer” public awareness campaign, it is vital for everyone in Illinois and Indiana to understand that teen drivers behind the wheel are simply different than adults who are operating a sedan, motorcycle, pickup, minivan, SUV, or semi-truck. They face a much greater risk of a fatal motor vehicle accident.
The tragic deaths of teen drivers and their passengers are particularly heart-wrenching since young lives have been lost, or catastrophically altered with sometimes permanent bodily injuries.
Even more so, when it is understood that the drivers who are under the age of 19 years old are still in their biological adolescence with a prefrontal cortex that may allow things like high-risk behaviors or emotional responses.
Any teen driver crash in our part of the country must be approached with compassion and a detailed investigation of the incident and its specific circumstances. Of note, there may be revelations in some matters that place legal liability on parties other than the teenager (other drivers; defective products; etc.).
For more, read:
- Teen Drivers, Adolescent Brain Development, and the Danger of Deadly Car Crashes
- Will Teen Drivers 18 & 20 Years Old Be Driving Semi-Trucks on Indiana and Illinois Interstates?
- Fatal Teen Driver Accidents: New Teen Driving Safety Technology.
During this “2024 Summer of Safety,” parents and others, including the teen drivers themselves, need to be educated on the continued growth of the adolescent brain and how this can compromise driving behaviors. Please be careful out there!
