A risky age

Operating under the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the Board on Children, Youth, and Families (BOCYF),

addresses a variety of policy-relevant issues related to the health and development of children, youth, and families. It does so by convening experts to weigh in on matters from the perspective of the behavioral, social, and health sciences.

BOCYF recently published their workshop report dealing with reducing teen-driver crashes.

Calling teen crashes "a critical public health problem," the workshop found teen-driver crashes to be the leading cause of death in the 16 to 20 year age group, and that two thirds of all deaths in such crashes are other than teens. "Knowledge about how and why teen motor vehicle crashes happen is the key to developing countermeasures to reduce their number."

The panel explored three areas addressing this issue:

1. How do theories and evidence from the behavioral, cognitive, social, health, and biological sciences inform understanding of both the risk factors that increase and the protective factors that reduce such crashes?
2. How can theories and evidence inform prevention, program, and policy interventions to reduce risky teen driving?
3. What research and interventions are most likely to advance teen motor vehicle safety over the short and the long term?

Preventing Teen Motor Crashes: Contributions from the Behavioral and Social Sciences: Workshop Report
(2007, Open Book, 76pp)

The May 15-16, 2006 Workshop is also available as both audio webcast and pdf presentations from BOCYF.